Mitch Landrieu One of Many Firsts for New Orleans!
Local News
 |
|
First NFC Championship, First Super bowl and first ever first-round landside victory with extraordinary biracial support to claim top office in city of New Orleans.
“We decided that we were going to stick the pole in the ground and strike a blow for unity, strike a blow for a city that decided to be unified rather than divided, a city that understands that where there is equal opportunity, there is equal responsibility. It is a city that really understands that we are ready to move beyond and into the next generation.”
After 3 attempts for the top office in the city of New Orleans, Landrieu was elected mayor with 66% of the vote avoiding a runoff election. In his victory speech Landrieu shouted to a euphoric crowd “We’re all going together and we’re not leaving anybody behind.”
Landrieu’s opponent Troy Henry finished second with 14 percent of the votes and in another first showed up at Landrieu’s victory party to personally congratulate Landrieu on stage and to offer to work together.
Mitch Landrieu is the first white mayor since 1978; his father, Moon Landrieu was the last white mayor. For the first time in over 30 years, voters of this majority black city chose a white candidate. “The city is unified rather than divided,” said Landrieu in his victory speech.
The Landrieu family is a political family. Landrieu, a four term state lawmaker, has also served as Louisiana’s number 2-person in the State as Lieutenant Governor for 6 years. His sister, Senator Mary Landrieu, is in her 13th year in the U. S Senate and another sister, Madeline, sits on the Civil District court.
The voters spoke and made their discontent known over the slow pace of the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and its rampant crime. Many of the city’s neighborhoods are still uninhabitable due to flood damage; there are still problems with the levees which protect the city which is below sea level making it vulnerable to another catastrophic flood.
The citizens of New Orleans are disappointed in Nagin’s performance, and in he recovery and the high crime rate. Crime has progressively gotten worse in the last four years.
Landrieu has promised to make job creation a top priority for his administration. “This campaign, this election and the future will be about making sure that all men and women – white and black, Hispanic, Vietnamese – have an opportunity for a great job so that we can sustain ourselves over a long period of time,” he said.
Landrieu will take office May 6th.
|
