Post by Emerald City on Apr 19, 2006 19:41:28 GMT -5
Good luck Mayor :read:
By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 18, 5:33 AM ET
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin tried to cast himself as a firm incumbent mayor who weathered Hurricane Katrina during the storm's devastation in a nationally televised mayoral debate — a rarity for a city municipal election.
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NBC judged that the debate would draw enough interest to air the Monday event coast-to-coast. Also, New Orleans residents are still scattered across the country.
"I've been here, and I have a plan," Nagin said during the closing of the debate hosted by MSNBC and WDSU-TV, the local NBC affiliate.
The tone of the mayor's race has been largely civil, with many of the leading candidates hesitant to attack Nagin or one another. But as the election approaches, the candidates have gotten more aggressive.
Monday's debate, moderated by Chris Matthews of MSNBC's "Hardball" and WDSU-TV anchor Norman Robinson, included Nagin and six other leading candidates. Nagin and the others are among nearly two dozen candidates who will appear on Saturday's ballot.
The others participating in the debate were nonprofit executive Ron Forman, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, corporate lawyer Virginia Boulet, businessman Rob Couhig, the Rev. Tom Watson and former City Councilwoman Peggy Wilson.
Forman charged Monday that city and state leaders had failed for two decades before Katrina hit on Aug. 29. "What have you been doing for 20 years?" he asked the lieutenant governor.
Landrieu shot back, saying he's been working on ethics issues and helping to develop the state's tourism business, including securing money for the Audubon Institute, the nonprofit Forman has been credited with growing into a major institution.
If a candidate wins more than half the votes Saturday, he or she wins the election, but a run-off between the top two finishers on May 20 is likely.
With less than half of the city's 455,000 pre-Katrina residents back home, the election's outcome remains uncertain. But most political observers expect Nagin to advance to a runoff against Landrieu or Forman.
The election is expected to largely hinge on turnout and race, with many displaced black voters fearful they may be left out of the city's rebuilding effort.
More than 16,000 ballots were cast last week by mail or at satellite polling places set up in New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana. Of those, two-thirds were cast by black voters, according to the secretary of state's office.
Elliott Stonecipher, a political and demographic analyst, said the early ballots cast do not necessarily reflect the overall turnout because civil rights groups and others concerned about disenfranchised black voters were the most active in mobilizing early voting.
"It doesn't tell us a thing. It's interesting. It's nice to know," he said.
By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 18, 5:33 AM ET
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin tried to cast himself as a firm incumbent mayor who weathered Hurricane Katrina during the storm's devastation in a nationally televised mayoral debate — a rarity for a city municipal election.
ADVERTISEMENT
NBC judged that the debate would draw enough interest to air the Monday event coast-to-coast. Also, New Orleans residents are still scattered across the country.
"I've been here, and I have a plan," Nagin said during the closing of the debate hosted by MSNBC and WDSU-TV, the local NBC affiliate.
The tone of the mayor's race has been largely civil, with many of the leading candidates hesitant to attack Nagin or one another. But as the election approaches, the candidates have gotten more aggressive.
Monday's debate, moderated by Chris Matthews of MSNBC's "Hardball" and WDSU-TV anchor Norman Robinson, included Nagin and six other leading candidates. Nagin and the others are among nearly two dozen candidates who will appear on Saturday's ballot.
The others participating in the debate were nonprofit executive Ron Forman, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, corporate lawyer Virginia Boulet, businessman Rob Couhig, the Rev. Tom Watson and former City Councilwoman Peggy Wilson.
Forman charged Monday that city and state leaders had failed for two decades before Katrina hit on Aug. 29. "What have you been doing for 20 years?" he asked the lieutenant governor.
Landrieu shot back, saying he's been working on ethics issues and helping to develop the state's tourism business, including securing money for the Audubon Institute, the nonprofit Forman has been credited with growing into a major institution.
If a candidate wins more than half the votes Saturday, he or she wins the election, but a run-off between the top two finishers on May 20 is likely.
With less than half of the city's 455,000 pre-Katrina residents back home, the election's outcome remains uncertain. But most political observers expect Nagin to advance to a runoff against Landrieu or Forman.
The election is expected to largely hinge on turnout and race, with many displaced black voters fearful they may be left out of the city's rebuilding effort.
More than 16,000 ballots were cast last week by mail or at satellite polling places set up in New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana. Of those, two-thirds were cast by black voters, according to the secretary of state's office.
Elliott Stonecipher, a political and demographic analyst, said the early ballots cast do not necessarily reflect the overall turnout because civil rights groups and others concerned about disenfranchised black voters were the most active in mobilizing early voting.
"It doesn't tell us a thing. It's interesting. It's nice to know," he said.
