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Marlon J. Horton, better known as 10th Ward Buck, is a few hours away from appearing on the City Council ballot. Horton is filing at 5pm today, and he’s optimistic about the race.

The NOLA bounce personality and owner of Finger Lickin’ Wings is running for the District B spot, and NoDef caught up with the local celebrity to discuss his platforms, how he decided to enter the race, and his unique position from the other side of the dais.

Horton said said that his experience as a restaurant owner influenced his decision to enter the race, and he wants other members of his community to have an accessible face on the council. “The mix of trying to go in front of different council members and boards to get approval, a lot of people don’t realize all of the things that go into it. I want to be that person in the community that can help them.”

Another one of Horton’s platforms is to focus on revival in place of new, costly projects. “Everything don’t always need to be new. Sometimes it’s cheaper to gut a home and fix it than to build a new one,” Horton said.

The soon-to-be candidate believes that his background gives him a unique perspective on the council and an ability to relate to many New Orleanians that fight violence in their communities. “There were things that I saw and got involved with because I didn’t know better, just like Judge Mathis,” Horton said. “I want people to know that I was there, I saw someone get shot.”  Horton believes that to fight crime, programs need to be put in place for kids over the age of 16.

“I remember when I used to go the gym, they’d say, ‘you’re 17 now, you’re too old.’ We need to put things in place for 17-21 year olds, give them job training. Teach them about resumes,” Horton said. He also wants to see more programs geared towards parents, noting that parts of a child’s education cannot occur in a classroom.

“It’s not always all about the youth, I want to set programs for parents—it starts with the parents. We need to give them options to become better people, and they can educate youth, too,” Horton said.  

In terms of the live music crackdown, Horton said he wants to “walk the line,” on the issue, and didn’t take one side over the other. “I want to make adjustments in these situations so that both sides are comfortable,” he said.