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Whoever "wins" this election has their work cut out for them.
07:19 AM CDT on Saturday, May 20, 2006
Associated Press
ELECTIONS '06NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Ray Nagin will seek re-election today in a runoff against Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, and the prize could be one of the most difficult and disagreeable municipal jobs in America.
"You have to question, what do you win by winning?" longtime New Orleans political analyst Silas Lee said. "It's an enormous job. It's rebuilding the spirit of the city. It's not just the physical rebuilding. That's what makes this job so challenging."
The winner of the too-close-to-call race will govern a city where, nine months after Hurricane Katrina, streets are still strewn with rusting, mud-encrusted cars and entire neighborhoods consist of temporary trailers and homes that are empty shells.
The leader of this city will need to figure out how to bring back its pre-Katrina population of 465,000, allay people's fears that this bowl-shaped metropolis will be safe when the next hurricane season begins June 1, and deal with the deep racial divide exposed by the storm.
Running for mayor, Mr. Landrieu acknowledged, "is not a smart political decision for anybody, because it's going to be a very difficult task."
The two Democrats agree on major aspects of the rebuilding, saying residents should be allowed to return to all neighborhoods, even those far below sea level.
As a result, much of the debate has centered on experience: Would this ruined city be better served by a former business executive (Mr. Nagin) or a career politician (Mr. Landrieu)?
Style has been a factor, too. Mr. Nagin often speaks in the vernacular of the working-class black neighborhoods he was raised in. He is loose and improvisational – some say impulsive – in public. Mr. Landrieu, a member of Louisiana's foremost political family and the son of New Orleans' last white mayor, is more polished and careful.
Race is also a strong undercurrent. New Orleans was two-thirds black before Katrina, and while the city's population has rebounded to nearly 200,000, many black residents scattered by the storm have yet to return.
During the April primary, most of Mr. Nagin's support was from black voters, while most whites supported Mr. Landrieu and other candidates.
New Orleans evacuees are arriving by bus to vote. Many are also voting by absentee ballot or cast their ballots at satellite polling stations set up around the state. As of Thursday, 24,000 had already voted, suggesting that the evacuee vote could play a bigger role this time than it did during the primary.
There are no reliable polls on the race, and experts will not hazard a guess as to who will win.
Mr. Nagin, a 49-year-old former cable television executive who holds an MBA from Tulane University and first ran for office in 2002, has tried to cast himself as the man willing to make tough decisions and stand up to President Bush and other federal officials when necessary. He has called himself a "thrill-seeker" and a "challenge freak."
Mr. Landrieu, 45, was a state lawmaker for 16 years before being elected lieutenant governor two years ago. He argues that his experience is exactly what the city needs as it seeks aid from skeptical state and federal leaders.
Associated Press
ELECTIONS '06NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Ray Nagin will seek re-election today in a runoff against Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, and the prize could be one of the most difficult and disagreeable municipal jobs in America.
"You have to question, what do you win by winning?" longtime New Orleans political analyst Silas Lee said. "It's an enormous job. It's rebuilding the spirit of the city. It's not just the physical rebuilding. That's what makes this job so challenging."
The winner of the too-close-to-call race will govern a city where, nine months after Hurricane Katrina, streets are still strewn with rusting, mud-encrusted cars and entire neighborhoods consist of temporary trailers and homes that are empty shells.
The leader of this city will need to figure out how to bring back its pre-Katrina population of 465,000, allay people's fears that this bowl-shaped metropolis will be safe when the next hurricane season begins June 1, and deal with the deep racial divide exposed by the storm.
Running for mayor, Mr. Landrieu acknowledged, "is not a smart political decision for anybody, because it's going to be a very difficult task."
The two Democrats agree on major aspects of the rebuilding, saying residents should be allowed to return to all neighborhoods, even those far below sea level.
As a result, much of the debate has centered on experience: Would this ruined city be better served by a former business executive (Mr. Nagin) or a career politician (Mr. Landrieu)?
Style has been a factor, too. Mr. Nagin often speaks in the vernacular of the working-class black neighborhoods he was raised in. He is loose and improvisational – some say impulsive – in public. Mr. Landrieu, a member of Louisiana's foremost political family and the son of New Orleans' last white mayor, is more polished and careful.
Race is also a strong undercurrent. New Orleans was two-thirds black before Katrina, and while the city's population has rebounded to nearly 200,000, many black residents scattered by the storm have yet to return.
During the April primary, most of Mr. Nagin's support was from black voters, while most whites supported Mr. Landrieu and other candidates.
New Orleans evacuees are arriving by bus to vote. Many are also voting by absentee ballot or cast their ballots at satellite polling stations set up around the state. As of Thursday, 24,000 had already voted, suggesting that the evacuee vote could play a bigger role this time than it did during the primary.
There are no reliable polls on the race, and experts will not hazard a guess as to who will win.
Mr. Nagin, a 49-year-old former cable television executive who holds an MBA from Tulane University and first ran for office in 2002, has tried to cast himself as the man willing to make tough decisions and stand up to President Bush and other federal officials when necessary. He has called himself a "thrill-seeker" and a "challenge freak."
Mr. Landrieu, 45, was a state lawmaker for 16 years before being elected lieutenant governor two years ago. He argues that his experience is exactly what the city needs as it seeks aid from skeptical state and federal leaders.
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