$

I was certainly relieved when the conviction came down but make no mistake about it, this is a sad thing for our city.

Ink Still Wet

On the indictment of Renee Gill Pratt.

Pratt lost her Council reelection bid in 2006 to none other than Stacy Head. Pratt was, by every single account I've ever heard, an absolutely horrendous representative. A class act.

It's important to learn to catch these crooks in the act instead of after the fact.

Endemic, systemic corruption - it's killing us.

Jeffersontext

There are a million sides to every story. Be back with more later.

-
It's later.

As things get sticky for Councilwoman Head around these emails let's me make sure that I'm telling the whole story.

We'll ultimately get many of these emails released but if what was leaked to me and others yesterday by LJI is the worst of the worst, count me as mostly unimpressed.

The Councilor is going to have to answer some questions about this for sure.

But...

Let us not forget the unusual circumstances around the early off-the-books release of the emails to LJI through Veronica White.

Connections to the Jefferson machine are quite transparent.

I actually have grown to have a lot of respect for what Head has brought to District B after ages of careless representation. Those changes have been good and I would hate for a sensationalized feud between Washington and Head to lead to the undoing of what I would say has been largely progress.

What really makes me angry and uncomfortable with the whole thing is that in my heart, I think that the LJI world and the Stacy Head world ought to be allied instead of feuding. I would say that 80% of their substantive interests align but that personal beefs around mostly inconsequential BS have distracted both sides from doing some really important things.

I have occasional email contact with both camps.

It's amazing how often they're on the same side of an issue but think they're working against one another. It's almost funny but it's mostly distracting. And I hate feeling like I have to pick a side.

Cao Meets With Jefferson

Link!

Anh Cao will sleep in a sleeping bag in the Rayburn building for awhile. That's awesome.

He also hasn't finished hiring a staff.

His people should get in touch with my people.

More on Jefferson-Cao

From Dr. Lance Hill, before the results came in:

So will race continue to play a role in elections? New Orleans remains one of the most racially polarized cities in the United States. At the heart of the distrust is the fear that many blacks have that whites have not relented in their plans to demolish black neighborhoods under the banner of protecting residents or reducing government costs. Indeed, while the debate on reducing the “footprint” of the city at the expense of black neighborhoods has largely been put to rest, some white leaders continue to float proposals to selectively “greenspace” poor neighborhoods into parks or retention ponds but this time through zoning laws or withholding public services and utilities.

This kind of talk does little to inspire trust and promote voting across racial lines; history tells us that when people feel threatened, they tend to coalesce along racial lines and block-vote to enhance their power and defend their group interests. In a political climate of fear and mistrust, every election can potentially be transformed into a symbolic contest of power in which voters end up supporting candidates as a show of racial solidarity, despite the candidate’s flaws.

The long-term solution to New Orleans’ racial polarization is to put an end to the divisive proposals that pit one neighborhood against another and that make income the measure of who has a right to return. If we want to be free of the politics of fear, we need to eliminate the threats that breed fear.

It is a testament to Bill Jefferson's diminished pulpit, and perhaps also to Cao's origins in New Orleans East, that 'greenspacegate' wasn't a central issue in this election.

On Third Thought

Let's look at some numbers:

Orleans Parish, December 9th 2006:

Jefferson: 23,218 51.30%
Not Jefferson: 22,044 48.70%

Orleans Parish, December 6th 2008:

Jefferson: 23,197 50.74%
Not Jefferson: 22,523 49.26%

Hmm. Remarkably similar. New Orleans has more full time residents now than in December, 2006 but maybe this indicates something about the upper bounds of Jefferson's post Katrina electoral base. Not buying the 'African Americans were confused' thing. If that were the case, Orleans would have gone by a much higher percentage to the Not Jefferson candidate, no?

Of the households that have returned to New Orleans in between the end of 2006 and the end of 2008, what percentage are African American and what percentage are white? An accurate estimation of that breakdown might help us establish some sort of test hypothesis for the vote totals to be expected from an off-day December runoff. I do find it curious that the anti-Jefferson vote was more or less the same as 2006, in terms of total cast and as a percentage.

-

Jefferson Parish, December 9th 2006:

Jefferson: 11,935 70.61%
Not Jefferson: 4,967 29.39%

Jefferson Parish, December 6th 2008:

Jefferson: 8,099 38.34%
Not Jefferson: 13,027 61.66%

Sickening. The bosses over there have way too much power.

Also remarkable because it would seem that Jefferson Parish voters changed their mind between 2006 and 2008. Unless... maybe Bill Jefferson's supporters in Jefferson Parish were 'confused' about the election this year.

Update: Schroeder's got a more nuanced table of stats.

African Americans 'Confused' About Election Day?

I have never preferred the analysis of UNO's Ed Chervenak.

His conclusions regarding Anh Cao's upset victory over William Jefferson drove the title and tenor of the Times-Picayune writeup and have contributed to a meme that seems to have been repeated in other blog posts and articles I've read about this election.

African Americans didn't show up at the polls because they were 'confused.'

The dearth of voters showing up at the polls Saturday likely owed to lack of awareness of the election, Chervenak said.

With Louisiana holding closed party primaries for the first time in 30 years, the winner-takes-all general election became the third race of the season, rather than the second, as under the previous system. Complicating matters, Hurricane Gustav forced the first contest to be postponed a month, pushing the general election into December, sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Call me crazy but hasn't the scheduling of New Orleans elections always been confusing? African Americans weren't confused on election day in October, when Jefferson barely slipped into the runoff with an anemic twentysomething percent of the vote. Chervenak is essentially suggesting that African Americans knew about the October date because it had been previously scheduled and didn't know about this date because it was making up for one postponed in early September. This sort of implies that voters go to the Secretary of State's website and writes down all election dates on the calender a year in advance and then don't ever look at the news after that. And this idea that it was confusing because there was a closed primary... it's ridiculous. You know there's an election coming by watching the news or taking notice of the fliers and signs everywhere.

African Americans were not mobilized for this election, there's no doubt about it. It may be true to a certain extent that people were 'unaware' that polls were open, but I'd argue that people were not significantly more unaware than usual. From my experience, most people that follow politics generally learn when elections are being held and most people that don't, don't. Those in the latter category need to be mobilized. That's why campaigns are run.

This is every election.

Chervenak's rationale for why he thinks it was confusion is also interesting:

One school of thought holds that Jefferson was abandoned by voters who could no longer bear the weight of his legal difficulties. After FBI agents allegedly found $90,000 in marked bills in his freezer and linked him and several relatives to a wide-ranging bribery scheme, Jefferson was indicted on 16 counts of public corruption. His trial is expected early next year.

But in Chervenak's view, "People don't change their preferences that quickly in such a short period of time."

It seems implausible, he said, that "people would come to his defense and support him with their vote in two elections only to stay home for the election that would keep him in office."

Want to know what I think? I think that what Ed Chervenak believes amounts to 'demographics is political destiny.' Actually, I know it does. I've taken one of Professor Chervenak's political science courses. It was awful and there was a strange bipartisan student rebellion against him. (Ask me about this another time.) (Also, Oyster monitored use of the 'demographics is political destiny' theme during the Presidential race. Maybe he even coined that phrase.)

Chervenak inexplicably thinks it's 'implausible' for people to vote one way one time and then, after events occur, vote another way at a later time.

In 2004, President Bush was reelected. In 2006, his Presidency, party, and platform was repudiated by the same country that had just given him "a mandate" two years prior. Were white Republicans 'confused' about the date of the election in 2006?

Guess what? A lot of African Americans were 'confused,' but not by the date of the election.

I think a lot of African Americans were 'confused' by the actions of the African American political establishment.

I think a lot of my African American neighbors heard all sorts of stuff about how they needed to reelect people like Jefferson and Nagin in order to protect their communities only to watch those same politicians instead work to implement the same trickle-down recovery policy championed by the conservative establishment while their own neighborhoods are deprived of services and investment.

I think this confused African Americans enough that this time, many decided they'd rather stay at home or stay in Houston than mobilize for this corrupt Jefferson guy who doesn't seem all that interested in delivering for flooded black neighborhoods after all.

This isn't to say that had Jefferson had more money or actually done some campaign work, we wouldn't have seen a different outcome, but to suggest that African American confusion was a reason for Jefferson's defeat is a total cop-out.

The Times-Picayune needs to stop going to Chervenak for everything. At the very least, they need to stop publishing his analysis as fact by surveying a more diverse lineup of political analysts for articles like this one.

Wow

I just cannot bring myself to vote for anyone with that party affiliation right now. I'm a little bit prejudiced, well mainly because of what Republican governance has done to this country over the last several election cycles. When I woke up this morning, I was still thinking of either abstaining or voting for Malik Rahim. I ended up voting third party under the assumption that Jefferson would win big.

This is a truly stunning result.

The Jefferson Machine has been weakened significantly over the last two years. I look at Cheryl Gray's 2007 thrashing of Jalila Jefferson for LA Senate as a demonstration of that.

Yet after he cruised through the open primary and runoff with Moreno, I just figured he'd found a way to mobilize enough voters this one last time.

Without the Obama excitement getting people to the polls, turnout was abysmal. Cao won with just over 33,000 votes. That's not very many at all, even with a smaller population.

When a Republican wins in a city that voted near 80% for Obama, when a Republican wins in a district like ours after what Republican politicians did to this country, that the race was even competitive -- what does it say about popular confidence in the local leadership class?

New Orleanians have no faith in their government.

It speaks to a stunning leadership vacuum in this city. It is our first problem, the problem we must solve before we can credibly address any other.

Eric Kleefield at Talking Points Memo is already looking at 2010:

[L]ook for the Dems to put up a strong candidate in 2010 -- maybe one who isn't under indictment -- and make this seat their top pick-up target.

What people don't realize is that there's really no such thing as "the Dems" in New Orleans. Politics here is not partisan, it's tribal.

New Orleanians do not do a good job of communicating political conditions to the rest of the country. And the rest of the country sometimes writes New Orleans off to eccentricity or to drown.

Here's an incomplete list of themes that I often write about and think about:

1. New Orleans is corrupt as hell. The incredible leadership vacuum at the municipal level has lead to the city's unsteady and vision-less gridlock.

2. There are frightening and offensive quality of life issues.

3. It is emblematic of the ultimate national disillusionment with W. Bush, who should be banished from this city for the rest of time and with the concept of American geopolitical superiority, as the Katrina response demonstrated a sobering hollowness of capability reminiscent of tales of the USSR in the '80s.

4. Recovery policy is transparently unjust, racist, trickle-down horseshit. I believe that Barack Obama can only help this place by empowering and demanding his new Recovery Czar (in whatever form) live in New Orleans, engage in policy, and take strong public positions on regional issues.

5. If New Orleans weren't so kneecapped by this three-legged stool of racism, corruption, and incompetence, it would actually be well positioned to lead on matters of urban sustainability.

6. These are the most resilient people in America, some live in spite of government and some lives to spite the government.

I'd really really love for the Dems, the national ones, to come down here and take a look at this place as a pickup target in 2010. What they're going to find out is that the investment in leadership was needed a long time ago. New Orleans was desperate for competent, progressive leadership pre. It's that much more desperate post.

I hope local Democrats take notice of the political environment; Bill Jefferson's defeat today cannot be dismissed as a full exception. He'd been indicted by the Feds, but there are many more local officials who have been indicted in the minds of the public.


--

Too wordy? Too preachy?
A downer? Dead-on?

Full Speeed Ahead: Sailing in Circles

This weekend's election results were a major disappointment containing few silver linings and an ugly long-term outlook.


The Sad Truth: The 2nd Congressional district will see a runoff between the disgraceful William Jefferson and the uninformed conservative puppet Helena Moreno. For many weeks, I had anticipated this result and often used words like 'disastrous' and 'embarrassing' to describe a possible non-choice between Jefferson and Moreno. Somehow out of a slate of 7 below average candidates, we ended up a choice between the least qualified candidate and the most demonstrably corrupt candidate. This will not be viewed kindly by outside observers. This city desperately needs federal recovery dollars, and outsider perceptions of our 'worthiness' for such expenditures have already been battered by racist conservative media narratives. The reelection of someone as image-killing as Bill Jefferson or someone so patently unqualified for one of the city's highest offices represents another major blow to our civic credibility.

The Cynical Optimist: We'll have another crack at unseating Congressman Jefferson either when he's sent to prison or in two years. It gives us a chance to regroup behind a credible challenger about whom we can be relatively enthusiastic, a stark contrast to this year's slate of clothespin catalysts. I don't know how well we would have been served by erecting a new wall of Congressional incumbency around the likes of Troy Carter or Cedric Richmond.


The Depressing Facts: The Orleans Parish School Board is now lacks diversity in demographic makeup and in ideological philosophy. The grossly gerrymandered district maps have always encouraged a white majority, but post-K New Orleans magnifies those advantages. Much more substantively, the new school board has demonstrated an unfortunate disengagement from the most critical issues facing public education in New Orleans. The new school board includes conservatives in Brett Bonin, Woody Koppel, and Seth Bloom who ran on an ideological predisposition counter to the needs of a public school system. Far from actually possessing a plan to improve our public schools, these conservative candidates are primarily concerned with finding cheaper ways to produce the same results. Their primary goal, if I'm understanding their platforms correctly, is to reduce the school district's burden to the taxpayers. That is something that appeals to some people, particularly those that do not think they have a personal stake in the public school system, but this does not appeal to me. I believe education is a worthwhile investment for my tax dollar and I want a school board that will see to it that I get more impressive returns. This city needs strong public schools but an OPSB controlled by advocates of disinvestment is ideologically predisposed to not providing them.

The Smiling Idiot: A few strong progressives ran classy campaigns on little to no budget and began to build localized grassroots networks. Percy Marchand from District 06 and Amy LaFont from District 03 were extremely engaged in the actual issues facing the school systems from the very beginning. They each ran their campaigns on substance. They spoke out against the master plan because they not only took the time to read it but they truly engaged the material. They can be proud of that. District 06 is probably the least hospitable in the entire city for a progressive candidate like Percy Marchand, and the election results demonstrated this. Mr. Marchand is by far more qualified for the school board than Woody Koppel but the truth is that too many district 06 voters likely share Mr. Koppel's predisposition to decentralize and divest. Amy LaFont changed the debate in District 03. Her knowledge of the school master plan predates that of any of the other candidates by many months and her strident criticisms of the plan's effects on District 03 forced even Republican candidate Brett Bonin was forced to adopt a more skeptical rhetoric.


The Future:

In 2004, when I was still very depressed about George Bush's reelection, my father cheered me up with some clairvoyant analysis. He said that when Bush and his congressional cronies screwed up, there would be no where for them to hide the blame. He anticipated that Bush's reelection allowed for the total unravelling of the neoconservative movement because the only government for the neoconservatives to pin everybody's problems on would be their own. How lucky we are that the United States was strong enough to have come this close to withstanding the disastrous reign of the worst President of all time. We might just barely make it.

But is New Orleans that strong? Does New Orleans have the luxury of waiting?

How many more cycles of inept, corrupt, or conservative governance can this city withstand? How much longer can New Orleans be lead around the same circle of establishment consensus?

A lot of people I know romanticize New Orleans as a sinking ship where love for life is enhanced by the freedom gained from recognition of the inevitability of drowning. But a lot more people I know would love life a lot more if we'd just fix the holes in the boat. Can't we agree, at the very least, that this ship should sink more slowly? Our captains obliviously want to go full steam ahead into storm after storm, refusing to plug the gaping holes in our in-between moments of daylight. I don't know how much more water we can afford to watch pour into the hull before we decide to take our mutiny to the deck.

Can't we drop anchor, make repairs, ditch the sinking ship metaphor, and instead adopt one involving flight?

District 02: Empty Suits or Worse

I agree with everything adrastos says in this post.

I was disappointed with the choice of candidates when this election started but I thought that someone would step up and say the right things. I thought someone would step up and make a play for progressive voters.

Nobody went after Jefferson, who is clearly amongst the front-runners. Why not?

-

I'm most disappointed in James Carter's campaign. He has had so many chances to fight for the citizens of this city this summer alone but has mostly sat on the sidelines. When James Carter had a chance to steal the spotlight and demand answers from the Mayor or from Ed Blakely during the NOAH scandal, Councilman Carter took a pass. When he had a chance to make a public stand against the Mayor's tiered reentry policy for Gustav, Councilman Carter took a pass. When the opportunity arose to get answers from the Mayor over his executive order suspending NCDC, Councilman Carter took a pass.

And now Councilman Carter continues to refuse to challenge the obviously broken demolition process. How many more mistaken demolition lawsuits does the city need to be hit with before Councilman Carter stops giving safety and permits the benefit of the doubt?

I have been trying to support him this whole time. I wanted an excuse to endorse him. Anything at all. Just one fiery rant to the paper on which to base it. Just one. My belief was that he was the least objectionable candidate of those with any chance to prevent a disastrous Moreno-Jefferson result on Saturday. But he never did anything to help the medicine go down. He did nothing.

So I cannot and will not endorse him.

Sorry, Councilman Carter. I was open-minded for as long as I could be. You blew it.

So where does that leave me for Saturday?

I think I'll be voting write-in for myself.

Someone please change my mind.

William Jefferson Seeks OPDEC Endorsement AND FAILS TO GET IT

Dear OPDEC Members:

The Congress is in session and I am in Washington attending to my responsibilities here. Therefore, I cannot attend the endorsement meeting the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee (OPDEC) has scheduled for Thursday, July 24, 2008.

I have enjoyed the support of OPDEC since my first election as a congressional incumbent. I have always been an unwavering Democrat. I have always delivered for my district, and I still am. I have the support of my congressional colleagues for our recovery, as evidenced strongly by the recent Congressional Delegation trip to New Orleans I spearheaded, again bringing our Speaker, Majority Leader, Whip and 30 members of Congress to report on commitments made and honored by Congress since the Hurricane of 2005. My recommendations to my colleagues have resulted in bringing billions home to recover levees, homes, schools, businesses, affordable housing, health care and other vital services to our city and region. On this most recent trip, the Majority Whip of Congress, James Clyburn, announced that because of my insistence and advocacy, $834 million for our sewerage and water board rebuild will be added to the large infrastructure legislation that is being written in Congress, along with $405 million that will be included for hospital recovery. The claim that somehow I am distracted and cannot do my job is a hollow poli tical claim by those who oppose me. It is not reality. The reality is that I have the confidence of my colleagues and the leaders of the House, who continue, through me, to listen to the people of the 2^nd Congressional District.

OPDEC has always supported me without fail because the people of the 2^nd Congressional District have. Of the Democrats in the district, 75% are African American, 21% white and 4% other races. In my last election, I received 85% of the African American vote in Orleans Parish; 87% of the African American vote in Jefferson Parish; 55% of the white vote in Jefferson Parish; and around 20% of the white voters in Orleans.

Additionally, I have consistently received the endorsement and support of another major constituency of OPDEC and of Democrats, generally, organized labor, and was again endorsed by the AFL-CIO last week for this current election.

As always, I would appreciate the support of OPDEC for my re-election. Thank you and the very best of luck to each of you who has taken the responsibility to lead and to follow the desires, needs and aspirations of the Democrats of our parish.

Respectfully,

William J. Jefferson

---

I wasn't there, but I BELIEVE that William J. Jefferson DID NOT receive the endorsement of OPDEC. One reason that he did not retain the loyalties of that organization was the success of an emerging local progressive reform movement. Earlier this year, progressive democrats successfully fought to get new blood onto the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee.

The nod went to Councilman James Carter, who can also pick up WCBF's strong endorsement by boldly leading the investigation into NOAH. If Carter shows an aggressive streak on the NOAH scandal, he is uniquely positioned to make a big impact. I've already emailed him to tell him just that and I hope you do the same.

Handicapping the LA 02

Jeez guys, what are we going to do with this one?

I will tell you that the buzz at Netroots about this race was, 'jeez, what are you going to do about this one?'

What do y'all think?

Right now, I'm not liking anyone a whole helluva lot.

The most obvious cuts from my list are: Bill Jefferson.

Beyond that, there's Byron Lee, Helena Moreno, Troy Carter, Malik Rahim, James Carter, and Cedric Richmond.

I respect Mr. Richmond's work on the Angola 3 but still have many many concerns.

What are we going to do?

The NOAH Ten {UPDATED}

See below.

Last year's T-P reported that the NOAH program actually spent $15 million in municipal money, not the 2-4 million stated in the original press release.

Additionally, Karen has discovered that NOAH gutted a home at 2225 Willow St. for Orleans Metropolitan Housing, the non-profit playpen of the Jefferson Machine. (To reiterate, NOAH's home remediation program was funded to provide free gutting services to seniors and low income New Orleanians.)

Again, from the Mayor's press release, we can ascertain the 10 contractors hired to perform gutting services for seniors and low income New Orleanians.

Biagas Enterprises, BNOB Construction Services, Carter’s Renovations, Charbonnet, Inc General Contractors, Blue Carpentry Construction Co., Matthews Developers, Myers and Sons Enterprises, W.T. Verges Construction Co, General Contracting Co., Inc., and Moon-Glo Developers.

Let's get to it using the Secretary of State's corporate data base. This is a good tool we can use for other things so bookmark this link.

1. Biagas Enterprises

Two relevant search results. One for Biagas Enterprises and another for Biagas Enterprises and Construction. The former entity has expired. The latter is inactive due to failure to file the 2007 annual disclosure report.

2. BNOB Construction Services

BNOB is in good standing. However, Scott Sewell of BNOB/Benetech is a former Bush staffer. See American Zombie for more on BNOB, Benetech, and Nagin.

3. Carter's Renovations

There is nothing for a company called Carter's Renovation, it is unclear if it exists in that form. There is a link for a "Carter's Residential & Commercial Construction" and a "Carter Renovation and Development Company." Both are classfied as inactive by action of Secretary of State for failure to file annual reports.

4. Charbonnet Inc. General Contractors

There are several business entities with the name Charbonnet and it is unclear which one got the contract. Charbonnet Inc, Charbonnet General Contractor Inc. Austin, Charbonnet Development, and Charbonnet Construction Inc., Pierre are either "not active" or "not in good standing." Charbonnet Construction Company, Inc. is active and in good standing. We'll still need to find out which Charbonnet was hired to do work for NOAH.

5. Blue Carpentry Construction

According to the SOS database, Blue Carpentry Construction Co. Inc. is Active but "not in good standing for failure to file current annual report."

6. Mathews Developers

There is no listing for any business with that name. We do have a Mathews General Contractors, a Mathews Properties, LLC, and a Mathews Builders Inc. They are all active and in good standing. No such thing as Mathews Developers though.

7. Myers and Sons Enterprises

Active and in good standing.

8. W. T. Verges Construction Company, Inc.

Active and in good standing.

9. General Contracting Co., Inc.

Active and in good standing.

10. Moon-Glo Developers

There were four relevent search results here, all listing Alphonse Martin Jr. and Dan Williams. Two non-profits called Moon-Glo of New Orleans and Moon-Glo, Inc. are now defunct. A business corporation also called Moon-Glo Inc. is inactive. There's another business corporation called Moon-Glo Development, L.L.C. that is active and in good standing.

--

So being as generous as possible, only five of ten contractors awarded municipal money for NOAH's remediation program are verifiably active and in good standing. Two firms, Biagas Enterprises and Blue Carpentry Construction are clearly defunct. Two more, Carter's Renovations and Mathews Developers may not exist at all, at least as they are described in the Mayor's press release. That leaves Charbonnet Inc General Contractors, which also may not exist but may also be a reference to one of many other construction companies named Charbonnet.

We will need to get some more clarity as to whether or not Carter's Renovations and Mathews Developers actually exist. For some of the others, there is some discrepancy as to which listing refers to the actual NOAH contract winner. We should start cross-checking some of the names and addresses listed for the contractors with campaign contributions given to the Mayor and members of City Council. You can use this site to do that. If you find something, post in the comments section.


UPDATE:

I have emailed Stacey Jackson of NOAH with two public records requests. One asked for the contracts signed with the ten companies paid for remediation work. The other asked for the database of properties serviced under the program not excluding the name of the contractor responsible for each property. I tried two different email addresses for Ms. Jackson, I'll keep you posted.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:

I have amended the records request for the contracts that NOAH signed with the ten contractors listed in the press release to also include ALL contractors that did remediation work for NOAH to make sure we catch contractors that may not have been included in the press. Ms. Jackson has not emailed me yet. Legally, she must respond by Tuesday evening at the absolute latest.

Also, what do people think about the unclear listings for Carter's Renovations, Charbonnet, and Mathews Developers? Any clue which entity is accurate?

Any Basic Credibility?

The most credible Congressional advocate for the City of New Orleans is running for reelection as he awaits trial for corruption and bribery charges.

I've been privately wondering what brave progressive soul would step up to challenge him.

With a Democrat hopefully taking the Presidency in November, it is expected that the recovery of our fair city will finally receive some positive federal attention. If there is to be any hope that some of that money addresses real problems, we will need a local congressional delegation capable of expressing the needs to our community.

Clearly, we do not have that now.

Oyster and Jeffrey have posts up right now that describe the current state of the race.

It ain't pretty.

Part of the problem is that the seat in question encompasses separate parishes with separate demographics and sometimes divergent political concerns. Frankly, there is open hatred between geographic voting blocs within this poorly drawn district. It is so asinine for one man or woman to represent the area because you pretty much have to spit on one voting bloc or the other to get elected. Regardless of the political ideologies, in America, your congressional representative is supposed to represent the concerns of your district on a basic level. That cannot happen in Louisiana's 2nd as it is currently drawn.

Oyster speculates that if State Senator Cheryl Gray were to run against Mr. Jefferson, West Bank voters would vote for a blatantly corrupt alternative just to spite Orleans Parish liberals and implies that State Senator Gray's campaign would be D.O.A. as a result.

Maybe I'm naive but I think that Cheryl Gray would win if she decided to run. I hope that she does decide to run. I'd rather become disillusioned while fighting for a positive candidacy that faces dirty, racially polarizing resistance than just grudgingly voting for a sleaze like Byron Lee just to finally get rid of Bill Jefferson.

D-5 Meetin'

This evening I attended an open town hall meeting organized by State Senator Cheryl Gray.

It is encouraging to see an elected official make an honest effort to keep in touch with the community in an unpretentious way.

We were all encouraged to ask questions and raise whatever concerns.

Turnout was... eh.

Maybe twenty something people. Maybe thirty.

A lot of neighborhood association types, some recently-elected Democratic committee people, State Rep. Neil Abramson, City Councilwoman Shelly Midura, some of NOPD's finest, Cheryl Gray, her staff, and a judge.

A lot of shout-outs to Robert Cerasoli, our new inspector general here in New Orleans.

Anyone could have been there, though. It's not an exclusive club. I made it past the velvet ropes no problem. (None of them have any idea that I happen to be a Mayoral candidate)

State Senator Gray spoke briefly about the legislative session that Governor Bobby Jindal has called to address the ethics laws governing state officials. It was only her second day in the Senate. Neil Abramson is only on day two in the House as well.

Sounds like they're busy. They were broken into committees and tons and tons of ethics reform bills are going to be going onto the House and Senate floors this week and next. They're trying to require officials to reveal the sources of their income. One area that may be contentious may be whether or not to expand that requirement to judges.

Apparently, it's a question of constitutionality.

Yo! Of course a judge is going to find it unconstitutional!

We can't require judges to disclose the sources of their income in this state?

Shoot, that's a conflict of interest problem waiting to happen. It probably already has happened. A lot of times, probably.

Anyway, they have a lot of different bills they gotta sort through. You can watch it live here.

Shelley Midura said City Council has sent a resolution automatically applying any new state laws stronger than existing municipal laws to municipal officials. People clapped.

The NOPD officials answered questions for awhile. It was very interesting, I'm thankful to the officers for doing so. They're put on the defensive a lot, I'm sorry to say.

But they should be, people are rightfully mad about the crime, we have to ask questions.

Ed McGinnis, President of the Irish Channel Neighborhood Association informs me that it was tame. Each police district has monthly open meetings, I'm pretty sure on the third Tuesday of every month.

The rest of the time Cheryl Gray just took questions from the attendees.

Questions about the ethics bills, questions about coastal restoration, questions about the new VA hospital, questions about accessibility.

(This accessibility thing where a State Senator meets with constituents to answer questions and open a community conversation is apparently new to District 5)

Senator Gray promised to look into some of the things people were concerned about, promised a newsletter to constituents, and promised to meet again with us soon.

I was a jackass and asked State Senator Gray if she was considering a bid against William Jefferson Jefferson to go to Washington D.C. to represent the city. People howled. She just started this job. I know, I know. Anyway, nobody really ate the refreshments.

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Hmm, maybe I should run for his office first. Before I run for Mayor. I think I might do that. Because I'll likely lose the first race. It'll position me better for the mayoral run, no? Get some name recognition, establish my values and my character... I'll commission some polls or some test groups or hire a consultant or something... unless I win.
I'm in it to win it!

Mr. Jefferson's running for reelection.

I believe his presence in Congress is an embarrassment to this city.

If people here are going to get what they deserve under the next President, we're going to need someone that cares about the people's concerns. It's called the audacity of care. (Oh snap!)

Who Should The Democrats of SE Louisiana Support?

According to the Times-Picayune, there are a lot of undecideds amongst our elected officials.

Just who will William Jefferson Jefferson decide to support?

Rep. William Jefferson Jefferson is a superdelegate, his endorsement lies in a briefcase buried in his backyard.

What might convince him to wake up before his wife to go dig it up and place it under the mailbox at an undisclosed location?

What could Mr. Jefferson possibly need to hear from Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Obama in order to lock up his nomination vote this summer?

Because certainly, an open endorsement from Mr. Jefferson is counterproductive to one's campaign hopes. Maybe that's less certain here, but it would certainly look bad everywhere else.

Mr. Jefferson's support is worth more than a public opinion boost. This felon-elect actually has power in the convention process.

--

And Mr. Nagin, our venerable mayor, he's an undecided too!

In an e-mail, Nagin said he is "waiting to see what their specific platforms are relative to supporting the full recovery of New Orleans." So far, Nagin said, he has heard pieces, but not their "whole plans."

Good call, Mr. Mayor. You wouldn't want to just support somebody that only has a vague idea as to how to fix things around here. You want somebody that is competent and accessible. You wouldn't want anyone that can't perform basic functions or anyone that disappears from the public eye randomly and without explanation. I mean, we're looking for someone that supports the full recovery of the city!

I'm sure your celly is ringing all day and all night as intermediaries of the Presidential hopefuls try to get in touch with you to court your influential backing...

---

Of course both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are well aware of the negative implications of being endorsed by Mayor Nagin...

...How hilarious and sad would it be if Mr. Nagin endorsed one of the candidates only to have that person hastily arrange a press conference to denounce the Mayor.

Do you think Barack Obama has to tell the Mayor of Omaha not to show up at one of his campaign events?

Or maybe the Mayor's just looking for an endorsement of his own. He's a dreamer, remember?

I hope he can be defeated this time

Has anyone indicated interest in William Jefferson Jefferson's congressional seat?

He's on trial, you know.

Before searching his home in 2005, FBI agents showed Jefferson a DVD recording of him taking the money in a northern Virginia parking garage a few days earlier. After viewing it, the agents testified, Jefferson slumped onto the couch and said, "What a waste." That comment is among those that his defense team is seeking to have excluded at the trial when it begins Feb. 25.


I'd like to see him trying his hand at "spending more time with his family" or "consulting." I think he'd be great at those jobs.

Who would you like to see representing New Orleans?

Derrick Shepherd, anyone?

I think we need a firebrand that yells and screams and refuses to compromise but then will compromise anyway at the last second to get us sweet earmarks.

Anyone up for starting a defense contracting company?

Coordinated Cheryl Gray Hit-job

That certain neighborhoods may or may not have received a racially loaded David Williams attack pamphlet targeting Cheryl Gray is no longer necessary as a smoking gun of sorts. The coordination of what now amounts to several nearly identical attack pamphlets from a plethora of Republican and Jefferson-tied agents seems to not have been hidden very well.

Thursday's T-P indicates that the David Williams attack mirrors that of an earlier mailing from the Jefferson-Bullock people:

Williams said the mailer was not intended as an endorsement of Jefferson-Bullock, but it happens to cite the same two bills that were listed in an earlier mail piece paid for by someone with apparent ties to the Jefferson camp.

Trouble is, both fliers incorrectly match the bill numbers with the language they quote as examples of why, according to the authors, Gray is fighting for the "rights of criminals" rather than the general public.

Indeed, the mailers make the exact same mistake.

In one case, the mailers point to House Bill 1146 from the 2006 regular session, which according to the state Legislature's Web site corresponds with a measure amending the definition of "bird." The other measure listed, House Bill 1142 from the 2007 regular session, matches no bill at all.

Then, yesterday, while investigating suspicions that the Williams attack mailing was targeted to white neighborhoods, I uncovered a similar smear pamphlet from another individual:

The above piece is from Republican State Rep. Ernest Wooton from Plaquemines Parish. That's the same Ernest Wooton that had been a Democrat as recently as 2006, is up for reelection in 2007, and whose seat is considered to be vulnerable.

Now, this morning, Oyster posted a letter from a reader describing yet another attack on Cheryl Gray:

Has the two house bill #'s, 1146 & 1142 & says S.G. wants young, violent street criminals released eary & put back on our streets & wants to abolish capital punishment for murderers, aggravated armed robbers & aggravated rapists under 18 years of age.

Well, that IS very interesting. Because those two house bills (1146 and 1142) are the same WRONG ones used in the David Williams and earlier Jefferson-Bullock mailings.

Remember, from the T-P:

In one case, the mailers point to House Bill 1146 from the 2006 regular session, which according to the state Legislature's Web site corresponds with a measure amending the definition of "bird." The other measure listed, House Bill 1142 from the 2007 regular session, matches no bill at all.

It's so easy to just kind of smirk this off:

"Oh, well that's New Orleans politics for ya!"

I know that. I know that's what politics in Louisiana and New Orleans has been for hundreds of years. I know. That sucks. I know.

"They'll all screw us over in the end, so whatever!"

Yes I know. All politicians are awful, I know.

These attitudes prevail because people believe that they are incapable of making changes. In so many cases they have been right. But this is a real opportunity. Cheryl Gray may indeed end up hurting our feelings one day. But the Jefferson Machine already has. Progressive New Orleans, New Orleans folks that believe government should be ethical and transparent, neighbors that believe that campaigns should not be decided by racial smear tactics and back-room hit-job alliances must make a statement on election day tomorrow. A progressive movement for clean governance of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the United States must start somewhere: be a part of it.

While I expect Cheryl Gray to win easily, I hope that nobody who has read Oyster, Celcus, or myself on a regular basis will be sitting on their ass and assuming the election results will come in favorably.

I'm voting.

And I've signed up to phone bank for Cheryl Gray on election day.

A simple victory will not feel the same as a landslide blowout.

So come phone bank with me. Or sign wave. Or talk to your neighbors.

Williams Attack Pamphlet Avoids Irish Channel

Nobody I've talked to around these parts has received the David Williams mailing that attacks Cheryl Gray.

For background check out:

the times-pic

some came running

your right hand thief

me

I've been asking around for a while, nobody I know around here has received it.

The brief summary is that David Williams finished third to Cheryl Gray and Jalila Jefferson-Bullshit in the District 5 State Senate Contest. Williams just sent out a racially loaded pamphlet that attacks Gray, ostensibly helping the Jefferson machine. Sounds fishy, no?

I did not receive the mailer, and naturally, I jumped to the conclusion that Williams conveniently did not send it out to my neighborhood because of it's racial makeup. Nobody around me as received it either, so I think it is a completely fair insinuation to make. I doubt it got delivered around Central City either. I talked to my mailman as well. He didn't remember delivering that particular political brochure either. Another mailman I spoke with mentioned that it is unusual for those types of brochures to be two pages and sealed, which is something I hadn't thought about before.

I do not feel entirely comfortable reporting this as fact, because thankfully, most people throw away these pieces of garbage without reading or noticing them, so it's hard to expect people to remember one piece of trash over another. (especially because they all look eerily similar, more on this later)

Several people I asked, however, some of whom were familiar with the controversy, and were adamant that it did not come to their mailbox. I would say I interviewed about 10 Irish Channel households about the flier.

My next-door neighbors did not get it, they had Jefferson-Bullock posters before the runoff, now they're pretty ticked.

Bloggers and the T-P have insinuated that the flier has ties to the JJ-B camp because they both improperly identify the bill numbers.

I'll let the T-P explain it, but I'll provide the emphasis:
Williams said the mailer was not intended as an endorsement of Jefferson-Bullock, but it happens to cite the same two bills that were listed in an earlier mail piece paid for by someone with apparent ties to the Jefferson camp.

Trouble is, both fliers incorrectly match the bill numbers with the language they quote as examples of why, according to the authors, Gray is fighting for the "rights of criminals" rather than the general public.

Indeed, the mailers make the exact same mistake.

In one case, the mailers point to House Bill 1146 from the 2006 regular session, which according to the state Legislature's Web site corresponds with a measure amending the definition of "bird." The other measure listed, House Bill 1142 from the 2007 regular session, matches no bill at all.

So there is ample evidence here that might tie David Williams directly to the Jefferson camp. But, as Oyster insinuates, this may be also an alliance between Williams and his old Republican friends:

But I guess Williams sees the writing on the wall, and assumes he'll lose his appeal, and wants to cynically and strategically help the inferior candidate (Jalila Jefferson), because she might be easier to displace next time around (especially if she has to resign with an ethical cloud over her head). Since this is right out of the Greater New Orleans Conservative Revolutionary playbook, I wonder with whom former Republican Williams is coordinating his attack.

Well now... that is an interesting theory. Now let us discuss the fact that so many of these pamphlets look awfully similar...

Let us discuss a flier that I DID receive in the mail the other day. This one was from Representative Ernest Wooton, a Republican from Plaquemines Parish who throws his hat into our Orleans Parish race by, guess what?

Smearing Cheryl Gray!

It attacks her as 'soft' on crime and unethical using the same language as the Williams piece and the earlier JJ-B piece described above by the Times-Pic

This one, however, does give an outright endorsement to Jalila Jefferson-Bullock as someone who "works best with Republicans and will help Governor Bobby Jindal pass his agenda..."
(David Williams denies ties to the Jefferson campaign)

I did a little googling for Mr. Wooten and found that he switched to the Republican Party just recently, in 2006. This site considers his seat vulnerable coming up in 2007. Just so you know...

These things do look alike sometimes. I took a picture of the Williams pamphlet and the Wooten mailer side-by-side so that you can see what I'm talking about:


Now I don't want to insinuate that the Williams and Wooten pamphlets are coming from the same place....

Actually, yes I do.

So I don't know which theory I like best. Did David Williams sign a deal with the Jeffersons? Did David Williams do a favor to his old Republican friends (who want to see JJ-B in office because the indictment over her father's head will embarrass the Democrats and make them vulnerable in the future)? Are David Williams, the Jefferson Machine, and the Republican Party of Louisiana all just scratching each others' backs on this one? Maybe Cheryl Gray hates our troops and loves terrorists, what the hell do I know?

Senate 5 Makes The Paper

Scooping Oyster and Celcus without so much as a tip of the hat, the Times-Pic has reported on the backdoor David Williams et Jefferson-Bullshit alliance and the controversial mailer that the Williams camp sent out last week.

Williams said the mailer was not intended as an endorsement of Jefferson-Bullock, but it happens to cite the same two bills that were listed in an earlier mail piece paid for by someone with apparent ties to the Jefferson camp.

Trouble is, both fliers incorrectly match the bill numbers with the language they quote as examples of why, according to the authors, Gray is fighting for the "rights of criminals" rather than the general public.

Indeed, the mailers make the exact same mistake.

In one case, the mailers point to House Bill 1146 from the 2006 regular session, which according to the state Legislature's Web site corresponds with a measure amending the definition of "bird." The other measure listed, House Bill 1142 from the 2007 regular session, matches no bill at all.

Oops.

Williams had been trying to paint Cheryl Gray as "soft on crime." (that's the opposite of "tough on crime." I extend my copyright of that phrase to "soft on crime")

Why is Rep. Gray "soft on crime?" Well, it is because she, according to Williams, fights for the rights of criminals. The bills he improperly cited were in fact Gray initiatives that would have abolished the death penalty for certain youth offenders and offering better chance of parole to youth convicts once they reach 30something. To quote oyster: "OH NO!"

Are we progressive in this city? Or do we cave to racially-loaded, fear-based, and reactionary I'm-tougher-than-you-on-crime attack-speech? This is language for Nixon, Reagan, and the authoritarian mayoral reigns of twenty and thirty years ago. We must not let this continue in 21st century New Orleans.

For those of you that are not convinced that attacks lacking any substance on a candidate's "toughness" on crime are inherently racially loaded, as I do, then I also point you to another phrase used by Mr. Williams in his flier. From Oyster's piece:

"She doesn't care if the election was illegal. She just wants to win. Or maybe she just cares about fair elections for some people, but not for people like you and me."

Very telling indeed.

Yet the proof might be in the pudding here.

I live in District 5, in a chocolateyer area of the Irish Channel and did not receive the mailing. The article made no mention of the specific areas that received the Williams piece. I strongly suspect that the flier did not quite make it to my neck of the woods on purpose. For those of you in District 5, please please please tell us in the comments section whether or not you received the flier and maybe your intersection... Shall we see for sure who Mr. Williams/his new Jefferson-Bullshit overlords intended the mailing to reach?

Oyster or Celcus, I know y'all are in D-5. Would either of you be willing to allow me to swing by to pick up your copy of the flier to take a look for myself?

I went by the Cheryl Gray for State Senate office yesterday at 4219 S. Claiborne Ave. They'll give you a big-ass sign to put in front of your house. They can also sign you up for election-day volunteer activities.

Or you can volunteer by going here.
Or contribute cash by going here.

Or don't do either of those things and just knock on your neighbors' doors and talk to them heart-to-heart...