Well, I voted for Landrieu
I did. This whole time I’ve been telling myself I was going to vote for Nagin, but within just the last few days I changed my mind. I voted for Nagin in the primary. I like Nagin. I really supported what he was doing with the city Pre-K. As someone who works in the tech / medical field, I felt very good having him in control because he was bringing technological innovation into the city, and he was very pro-expanding the downtown medical district, both of which meant job security for me. Furthermore the real estate market was booming, whether or not this can be attributed to Nagin is debatable, but the city was definitely moving in a positive direction.
His numerous post-k mistakes in the media helped to galvanize my support even more, because I found the uptight bourgeois reaction to these missteps to be even more offensive than then Nagin’s words. I think this is why I stuck by him for so long- he just seems to be more of the people’s candidate. Basically, I wanted to vote for whoever drew the Prytania Street crowd’s ire.
After Forman was out of the race, I was pretty satisfied and felt like no matter who won the runoff, we’d be in good hands. I still feel that way, but I decided to vote for Landrieu. Let’s face it; the city is broke. Whoever wins isn’t really going to be able to do much to change anything. I really don’t expect that the garbage people are suddenly going to pick up the month-old bags of who-knows-what in front of my house if Landrieu wins it. No, the mayor is a figurehead these days, a relatively powerless civil servant who can promise things like better schools and safer streets but is really in no position to deliver whatsoever. So, I voted for Landrieu because at the very least, he will be a symbol of change, and of progress. Even if nothing changes or progresses, he will at least give us a fleeting moment of hope, and that’s really better than nothing at this point.
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Nagin won without you.
plthhhhhhhh…..
Laurie
And he forgives us for going to the red light district…
Before Katrina, New Orleans was on it’s way to recapturing the title of the nation’s most dangerous city. The public school system was a joke. This is not a reflection on one person, the Mayor, but a reflection on the community. No matter who is Mayor, it will be the citizens of New Orleans who will make the city a better place to live or return it to “business as usual”. Only time will tell.