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Women could have big impact in mayor's race

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by Maya Rodriguez / Eyewitness News

Posted on November 21, 2009 at 5:24 PM

Updated Saturday, Nov 21 at 6:46 PM

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NEW ORLEANS - With the entrance her entrance this week into the race for New Orleans Mayor, Leslie Jacobs now joins Nadine Ramsey as one of the two women running for the city's top job.

"New Orleans is at a critical juncture and desperately needs leadership," Jacobs said.

"I want to see our city come back strong," Ramsey said, on why she decided to run. "I want to offer the leadership."

Although the majority of the City Council is made up of women, no woman has never been elected Mayor of New Orleans.

"While it's interesting that women hold a solid majority on the council, we've never had a woman even in the runoff for mayor," said Eyewitness News political analyst Clancy DuBos. "But maybe this is the year."

As of now, women outnumber men among registered voters in the city. Out of the 272,161 registered voters in Orleans Parish, 152,587 are women-- roughly 56 percent. It is a demographic that has not gone unnoticed by other mayoral candidates, including John Georges, whose campaign now includes the group "Women for Georges."

"I'm honored to have my wife as an equal partner in the race," Georges said. "She's working on the 'Women for Georges.'"

"Georges is certainly going after the female vote, but he has his wife out there as the head of 'Women for Georges,' DuBos said. "Leslie Jacobs and Nadine Ramsey don't need to have somebody out there in their stead, because they are females."

Yet, will that make a difference? DuBos said it all depended on which direction the mayoral campaign eventually heads in.

"Is it going to be shifted on the basis of gender, of race, of age, of political party, of being a business person versus a politician? There are lots of ways for this paradigm to align itself and it really depends on who has a good message that resonates with the voters," DuBos said, "and that will determine how the paradigm shifts in New Orleans politics."

The first test of any potential political shift will come during the primary election, which is scheduled for February 6, 2010.

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rhettswife said on November 21, 2009 at 5:45 PM

Clancy, dear, it comes down to one factor - who can best lead this city forward? Perhaps, if you and others would use this mantra, this city can come out of the morass of decay in which it has existed for decades. The history of this city and its leaders prove that point. It was not mother nature that turned this city backward, it was its leaders in the worst of times. We now need the best to lead us into the best of times, man or woman, regardless of ancestry, regardless of political party, regardless of faith, etc. Now is that person?

pygmalian said on November 21, 2009 at 6:02 PM

Might be time to let women lead. All of the men seem to be thieves and hoes.

sassyfrass said on November 21, 2009 at 6:31 PM

The men had their turn they blew it. the time for change is NOW!!!!!!!!

ironpony said on November 21, 2009 at 7:53 PM

It is time, be it male or female, for someone with some sense of city pride and enough head on their shoulders to get the city on the right track. Don't come in with the Louisiana way of thinking that they can get all that they can get and to hell with the rest. Rhettswife has said it, "Whoever can best lead the city." The city is in need of someone that will stay home and work hard at improving EVERYTHING, from schools to streets, from neighborhoods to tourism, from the court system to the police department. And not look to greasing his or her pocket or taking vacations to Japan or wherever. BE GOOD FOR AND TO THE CITY.......

librasunnola said on November 21, 2009 at 10:04 PM

Louisiana and New Orleans used to suffer from tainted politicians remaining in office so long that we came to identify the office (mayor, governor, etc.) with one person (Morial, Edwards, and so on). Now, the offices themselves have become so tainted after so many misdeeds in office (Nagin, Jordan, etc.), that I wonder whether a newcomer can clean the slate - and restore public confidence - during his/her term. Out of the people running for mayor, I know Leslie Jacobs is easily the best suited to accomplish this odious task. But it's harder to pick the cleanest candidate among those running for, say, Councilmember District A. Once again, New Orleanians will be called upon to hold their noses and cast their votes for the lesser of several evils. Oh, joy! Too bad Midura is not up to running for a second term ... what a breath of fresh air she's been these past few years!!! You hate to see someone step down from office just when she's hitting her stride. We seriously need smarts.

synceremarcus said on December 5, 2009 at 5:23 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfWlquYp9TY http://videos.nola.com/2009/11/marcus_c_on_mayoral_candidates.html