There are four candidates running for District Attorney of New Orleans:
Leon Cannizzaro
Jason Williams
Ralph Capitelli
Linda Bizzarro
And the election is fast approaching. I don't think anyone needs to be reminded how important the DA's office is, I don't think anyone forgets Eddie Jordan's embarrassing tenure.
What are people's thoughts on this race?
Briefly, and I hope to expand on this later, here's what I'm looking for:
1. Acknowledgment that New Orleans and Louisiana have amongst the highest incarceration rates in the world and that this reinforces the social conditions that tend to lead to crime.
2. Commitment and a plan to setting a new mission for the DA and NOPD that emphasizes a reduced incarceration rate. This means a concerted effort toward community policing practices that abandons this city's 'catch-and-release' philosophy. This means no more book throwing at non-violent drug defendants and the open-minded entertainment of decriminalization policy. This means more than continuing to fund the drug court programs.
3. Commitment and a plan to refocus resources being wasted to prosecute petty drug dealers on cases involving violent crimes. This means forensics and, especially, witness protection.
4. Deep reluctance to employ the death penalty.
5. Enthusiastic commitment and plan to prosecute white collar criminals.
6. Passion for researching and experimenting with successful methodologies from other cities and states.
7. Ability to articulate and advocate for more sensible gun ownership policies at the state level.
8. Plan to initiate substantive changes at the DA's office in the face of a resistant Mayoral and NOPD administrations.
9. Core administrative and managerial competency.
10. History of ethical and transparent practices and demonstrated freedom from powerful political and industrial alliances.
Yesterday there was a forum for DA candidates and I thought the T-P recap was quite interesting:
Each of the candidates claimed to be prepared to target violent crime and put murderers and armed robbers behind bars. Many similarities emerged on the policy issues: All vowed to improve the often-fractious relationship with the New Orleans Police Department; all support the creation of more specialized units to handle different kinds of cases, from sex crimes to public corruption; all pledged to provide better management for an office with an $11 million budget and 200-employee staff.
Instead of finding substantial differences on the issues, the candidates repeatedly returned to how their attributes best qualify them for the job during the forum at Loyola University sponsored by a collection of community groups less than three weeks before the Oct. 4 primary. An expected runoff of the top two vote-getters will be held in November.
I'm open-minded toward pretty much all of the candidates though it's very difficult not to totally throw Leon Cannizzaro under the bus for touting in a TV ad his endorsement from national GOP bankroller and blatant racist Boysie Bollinger. At least he's not keeping it a secret, I guess.
On second thought, I'll just go ahead and throw him under the bus. It would take a miracle for me to vote for someone enthusiastic about an endorsement from an animal like Bollinger.
If you've attended any of the DA candidate forums, please feel free to list your thoughts. Or if you have not gone to any DA forums, like me, please feel free to add some questions or priorities.
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