Change has come to New Orleans. First-time Super Bowl winners … first white mayor since 1978.
New Orleans has been in an unsettled state since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city five years ago. The political corruption, high crime, and slow rate of recovery had New Orleanians looking for something different, something new to latch onto for hope. They’ve found it in former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, a white man. The city is majority black, but Landrieu won, last Saturday, by a landslide, with 66 percent of the vote. His closest competitor was Troy Henry, a first-time candidate, who received a paltry 14 percent of the vote.
Ironically, it was Landrieu’s father, Moon Landrieu, that accomplishd the same feat those 32 years ago, having gained support through overseeing broad desegregation of the city during that period. Gaining momentum from the legacy of his father and a racially mixed city hall, younger Landrieu had attracted strong support from black voters. Many residents also said they were drawn to his long political background, having grown frustrated with Mayor Ray Nagin’s outsider approach, which saw a painfully slow recovery from Hurricane Katrina in the years since 2005.
“We’re all going together, and we’re not leaving anybody behind,” said Landrieu in a victory speech, where he was surrounded by his father, his sister — Mary L. Landrieu, the Democratic senator from Louisiana — and a crowd of family members, associates and a even a jazz musician or two.
Mr. Landrieu emphasized his campaign theme of common ground in his remarks, saying that the people of New Orleans had decided to “strike a blow for unity, strike a blow for a city that decided to be unified rather than divided, a city that understands where there is equal opportunity there is equal responsibility.”
Since the city is mostly black, the victory was both startling in its departure from the past three decades of New Orleans history and predictable, in that Mr. Landrieu was the front-runner the moment he surprised the field and entered the race. He ran unsuccessfully for the post twice before, coming close in 2006 but losing the runoff to the current mayor, C. Ray Nagin, who is prevented by law from running for a third term.
The city now has a new lease on life with the possibility of political and social reformation, punctuated by being home to the the countries 44th Super Bowl winners Hurricane Katrina may no longer be its focal point. –gerald radford
