NEW ORLEANS – Optimism abounds with the new city administration according to a Quality of Life survey released by the University of New Orleans Tuesday.
In the annual survey 75 percent of people said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of life in New Orleans, a jump from 59 percent in 2009 and 48 percent in 2006 – several months after Katrina.
The survey seemed to indicate that a change in mayor was a big reason for the optimism. Results showed 75 percent of those surveyed approving or strongly approving of Mayor Landrieu so far as compared to a 24 percent approval rating for Mayor Ray Nagin just the year before.
Landrieu also enjoys support across racial lines with 72 percent approval among African-Americans and 78 percent approval among whites.
The City Council in New Orleans has also seen its approval rating jump a bit. 59 percent of those surveyed approved of the council compared to 48 percent a year earlier. However, there is a disparity in how the council is viewed by race with only 49 percent of African-Americans and 71 percent of whites approving or strongly approving.
In Jefferson Parish there was little change in the view of the quality of life. Just about 91 percent of those surveyed said they were satisfied or very satisfied with life in the parish. The number has hovered in the high 80s to low 90s for the past five years.
Sheriff Newell Normand saw some of his popularity erode, but it’s still very strong. He had 78 percent approval, compared to 82 percent in ’09 and 90 percent in ’08.
Parish President John Young had 51 percent of the parish saying he was doing a good or very good job. That somewhat average number could be attributed to 42 percent who said “don’t know” in response to the question, since Young has only been in office a short while.
