03:52 PM CDT on Saturday, April 15, 2006

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — Disneyland is looking into a New Orleans mayoral candidate's unauthorized use of a photo depicting the theme park's "New Orleans Square" on her campaign Web site.

The picture, which resembles a contrived French Quarter scene far cleaner and less rustic than the actual historic neighborhood in New Orleans, was used by Kimberly Williamson Butler, the criminal district court clerk, who was recently jailed on a contempt of court charge.

A Disney public relations official confirmed that the picture comes from the theme park and that the company had been made aware of the unauthorized use of the image.

"We've referred this to our legal department," the official, who did not give his name, told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune on Friday before referring further questions to a lawyer who could not be reached.

Butler did not return a call seeking comment.

The photo resembles New Orleans, but a curve in the street (the real French Quarter is a grid) along with the unrecognizable trash cans give away that the scene is from somewhere else.

Butler appears in the foreground of the photo, but it is not clear whether her image was simply superimposed on the backdrop by the Web site designer.

Butler's use of the photo comes at a time when preservationists and some residents are expressing worries about the French Quarter becoming a "Disneyland for adults" if developers and other commercial interests have too much say in the post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction of the city.

Butler is not considered a front runner in this month's election for mayor and her campaign has been defined by controversy.

She has received less attention for her platform than for her recent arrest and then comparing herself to Ghandi and Nelson Mandela after being released from jail last month.

The arrest stemmed from her refusal to transfer authority for the cleanup of the court's hurricane-flooded property room to an outside judge who was appointed to take on that task by the state Supreme Court.