NEW ORLEANS -- Six mayoral hopefuls were on stage Tuesday with one former candidate noticeably absent. The mayoral forum Tuesday evening sponsored by the Housing Coalition was the first gathering of the major candidates since the recent shakeup in the race.
State Sen. Ed Murray's weekend announcement to bow out of the race creates quite the void. Murray was one of the leading African American candidates in a race that was long thought to result in a run-off between a white and black candidate.
"Somebody has got to catch the imagination of the public and sort of grab the momentum," said former New Orleans Mayor Sidney Barthelemy. "I would say Mitch [Landrieu] has it now."
Barthelmey, who was a Murray supporter, said the departure now paves the way for a possible run-off between wealthy businessman John Georges and Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu.
"You never spend more money than you have," Landrieu told the audience. "And you invest in things that matter."
"And so we'll have to see whether one of the other African American candidates catches fire and assumes a leading position," said Dr. Ed Chervenak, University of New Orleans Political Scientist.
Chervenak said candidates James Perry and Troy Henry, based on their experience with preservation and redevelopment, walked away winners at the forum, mostly dealing with housing issues.
Perry promised to nurture small businesses already in the area.
"There are great entrepreneurial opportunities in the city," said Perry. "There are people with great ideas, but it only happens if we invest in our own city."
Henry, however, spoke of the importance of recruiting major corporations to the area as well as private-sector jobs.
“I'm going to ask the president, you've got 3 million employees. I want you to migrate 10,000 jobs behind these levees you've got so much confidence in."
Former Judge Nadine Ramsey tried to emphasize her track record.
"My governmental experience as a judge for 13 years and also as an assistant city attorney and an assistant attorney general have prepared me for this job."
Meanwhile, John Georges explained his plan to reshape tourism by bringing more direct flights to New Orleans.
"We're known as a party city, we need all the party people to go to Las Vegas we need to start attracting a different type of tourist,” said Georges. “We have been marketing the wrong type of tourist for our city. We can rebrand the city and build upon history.”
Georges and attorney Rob Couhig were the only candidates to answer ‘no,’ when asked whether they've read the city's 218 page charter, which mayors are sworn to uphold.
"The limited knowledge I have about the charter is it’s really a guideline that gives a lot of power to the mayor,” Georges answered, to which Couhig later shot back.
"Jon, I want to correct you on one thing, the city charter is not a guideline, it's the law. Part of the problem is we have a mayor who thinks it's a guideline now.”
