By Christopher Tidmore, ctidmore@louisianaweekly.com

Six months ago, Leslie Jacobs had no idea she would be a candidate for Mayor of New Orleans.  The former Orleans Parish School Board and State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) member thought herself finished with politics for the immediate future.   Her work on enacting the LEAP test, holding schools accountable, and ultimately expanding the number of Charter Schools had earned the former insurance executive a place in the history books.  

       As the Mayor's race formed up, Jacobs began to conclude, though, that she had no choice but to run.  "I’ve worked hard to improve our schools. But what good does it do if our kids can’t walk to school in safety, and they graduate and they have to go to Atlanta or Houston for a job?"

       "I want a city our children can return to, find a good job and live in safety. We should not be a poor city. We have abundant resources- from the port, to Michoud in the East, Federal City in Algiers, an influx of young talent and nine great colleges and universities. We have such untapped potential and opportunity if only city government would pull its weight and realize the potential. I am passionately committed to this city. I was born here and I want to watch my grandchildren (when I have them) grow up here. 

        In Jacobs' mind, of all the potential mayoral contenders, only she had the track record of bringing real reform to government against the bureaucratic and political odds.   "As New Orleanians, we all want the same thing for our city – safe neighborhoods, good jobs, better schools and honest and effective government. But it’s going to take a mayor who has the experience and ability to get the job done. I believe I can be that mayor."

        That determination comes from a surprising place.  Jacobs is known as the key player in the fight for high educational standards.  That willingness to fight came from her own struggle to learn.  Her childhood challenges taught her never to give up, she explained to The Louisiana Weekly and Bayoubuzz.  "I have a dogged work ethic which I attribute to my difficulties learning to read as a child. I had to be tutored after school and during the summer for three years to learn to read, and struggled for years as a student. I learned early on that I had to work harder, be better prepared and stay focused to succeed."

         That willingness to never settle for second best, Jacobs maintained, makes her uniquely qualified for the position of Mayor of New Orleans.  "I have achieved results as a business executive, civic leader and education reformer. I turned my family’s small business into one of the top 100 in its field. I helped create the five parish Southeast Business Council Coalition to focus on regional economic development and quality of life issues for the greater New Orleans region, and have worked as a business leader in job creation efforts. Finally, I’ve been a public official who has successfully brought improvement to what was thought to be an unfixable school system."

        Now, the former BESE and School Board member seeks to do the same at City Hall in three major areas "reducing crime, creating high quality jobs, and running city government honestly and effectively."

        It is particularly in this last category that she feels Ray Nagin has failed.  As Mayor to accelerate recovery from the Hurricanes , Jacobs outlined, the answer is "simple".  One must "prioritize then execute", something at which the current City Hall has repeated failed.   

       "Another simple but important step," Jacobs continued, "is to create a transparent bidding process to allow the citizenry to know who is receiving city contracts, why they’re receiving the contract, and to insure that disadvantaged business enterprises get their fair share. With this effort comes breaking-up large, multimillion-dollar contracts to give local small businesses the opportunity to competitively bid on city contracts. Before looking to Houston or Chicago, we need to look in our own back yard. New Orleanians have too long been shouldering the recovery themselves. It’s time for city government to step up to the plate."

        Key to any recovery, though, is a strategy to deal with the massive blight problem.  Nearly a third of the homes in New Orleans are abandoned properties or in extreme dilapidated condition.  Current constitutional changes in the state constitution following the New London Supreme Court decision make using eminent domain as a method to force landowners to fix their property difficult.  Jacobs, of all of the Mayoral candidates, had the most direct answer to the problem, "work to amend the state constitution."

        Expanding on that answer, she went on to say, "I fully support the property rights of owners. That said, when an owner has abdicated these rights by abandonment or neglect, the city has a vested interest in remediating the resultant blight." 

         Regardless, she added, "The language of the post-New London constitutional amendment is vague in relation to abandoned, severely damaged buildings. This issue is currently stalled in the courts. As mayor, I would work with our regional delegation and other cities to amend the constitution to give the city the right to expropriate blighted property that has been abandoned by its owner."

        An important key to the fight was "assist NORA [New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, the group in charge of the purchased Road Home properties] so it can be more effective" and "enforce building codes, so NORA can more effectively use the vehicle of the sheriff’s auction to transfer blighted and abandoned property to new owners and bring the property back in commerce".

       Lastly as Mayor Ray Nagin has failed to fund NORA, "find Seed Money for NORA".

       "NORA needs more cash upfront, since it must first advance money and then get repaid. CDBG only will reimburse after NORA has spent money. NORA also needs upfront cash so it can buy properties when appropriate and resell them.  Helping NORA access cash will allow them to address blight and turn around properties faster." 

        Some of the Mayoral candidates have called for another vote on the master plan, before its final approval.  Jacobs sees this as unnecessary.  "The citizens of New Orleans voted and I respect their choice. We need the master plan and a comprehensive zoning ordinance to secure the future of our neighborhoods, provide a clear set of rules for incoming businesses, and prevent the inside deals that are all too common with the current process."

        "The master plan requires community input and a City Council vote. Moreover, the master plan is not written in stone, it can be revised annually, and it must be reviewed every five years. The issue is not to skirt around the charter amendment, but to create a neighborhood participation and input process that is as close to the community and robust as possible. Done correctly, the master plan will allow the citizens to have a more powerful voice in the future of the city."

      One element of that master plan is to eliminate the overpass over N. Claiborne cutting the Treme and St. Roch neighborhoods in Half.  On ending the I-10 route behind the French Quarter, Jacobs explained, "I support the idea of tearing down the Claiborne overpass, but only under the condition that we provide sufficient access/egress around and into the City, and that this project is financially feasible, which will require significant federal funding." 

        On the very controversial subject of the new LSU Hospital in Mid-City, Jacobs refused to take a stand on whether there should be a new hospital on top of the current neighborhood or whether the Old "Big Charity" should be rehabilitated, saying "I can support rebuilding Charity at either location, but we must move with a sense of urgency.  It is unacceptable that four years after Katrina we are still having this conversation...[S}hould the Mid-City site prove to be the best alternative, I support that the new footprint be as small as possible, historic buildings be relocated and residents receive just compensation."

        "There are a number of facets to this issue," the Mayoral candidate maintained.  "First,  we must provide high quality care for all New Orleanians. Second, we need to keep the LSU teaching hospital in New Orleans,  Third, we should capitalize on the economic engine a new VA and Charity hospital, combined with the Cancer Consortium Research Center and other bioscience initiatives offer us. Birmingham, Nashville and Baltimore were able to use their medical centers to help revitalize their cities and create well paying jobs.  Fourth, we need the support of the governor to achieve these priorities.  The state has already committed $300 million towards rebuilding Charity and at least an additional $400 million in bonds will be needed.  Fifth, the new hospital needs to have a viable business model in the context of national health care reform and the pending changes in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement." 

         Under an agreement negotiated by the Nagin administration, New Orleans faces a five million dollar penalty if clearance of the land for the VA portion of the new complex is not completed by December.   

      One area in which Jacobs has spent more time than any other candidate for Mayor is the subject of regional cooperation.  "I don’t only support inter-parish cooperation, I’ve led it. After the federal flood, I founded the five parish Southeast Business Council Coalition to improve our effectiveness in lobbying Baton Rouge and the federal government on regional economic development and quality of life issues. There is tremendous need for a regional approach in flood protection and in criminal justice.  Neither water nor criminals stop at the parish boundary. "

        With rising assessments in Orleans Parish, as with the rest of the state, some have called for a state law requiring millages to be rolled forward by local government after being rolled back, only if such a move is approved by the voters at the polls, as other forms of property tax increases are currently.   Jacobs opposed such an idea.  "The power to levy taxes is given to the City Council by the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans. I believe the city charter is sufficient as is."  By corollary, no state law is required.   

         To the question, however, of whether she would promise to support keeping millages rolled back on city property taxes if Mayor, Jacobs answered somewhat obliquely, "New Orleans is in a dire financial situation that cannot be solved by increasing taxes. Housing costs are too high as is. We first must pare down city expenditures to a sustainable and appropriate level, not raise taxes."  She stopped short of making a solemn pledge, though, not to roll forward millages.   

          Expanding on the subject of paring down costs, Jacobs stated that she would have opposed Ray Nagin's proposal to purchase the Chevron Building as a new city hall.  "The Chevron Building is difficult to access, has scant parking available, and is an office building not terribly apt to house city government or to provide a Council Chamber for the public to visit. There was also no community input or transparency in the process.  I do not support moving City Hall to the Chevron Building."

         She acknowledged that all other options are hugely expensive from a $20 million dollar repair cost to the current building to a $40 million dollar cost to convert "Big Charity" into the new City Hall.  Jacobs said that in her view, a New City Hall is based on the available dollars.  " If the Charity building is not reopened as a hospital, I would consider it an option pending a cost analysis." 

         If there is no GOP candidate for Mayor, The Republican Parish Executive Committee has promised to endorse a Democratic candidate.  Jacobs pledged to seek that endorsement.  "All New Orleanians want the same thing: safer streets, better jobs, and a functioning government. I will not hesitate to reach out to any member of the community, be they male or female, old or young, black or white, rich or poor, Democrat or Republican. My message to them is the same: we need a mayor who can get things done and get New Orleans back on its feet."

        On the question of whether the voters should care if the next Mayor of New Orleans is Black or White, Jacobs replied, "New Orleanians are fed up with failure in city hall. Its been proven that incompetence and corruption know no race, color, creed, or sex. The city is at a critical juncture. We cannot allow this election be about race or gender. It must be about experience and the ability to get results. And I make this pledge: my administration will be an open, fair and inclusive one."

      More at her website is www.lesliejacobsformayor.com.

Profiles of other Mayoral candidates Ed Murray, John Georges, Troy Henry, James Perry, and Nadine Ramsey can be found at http://host1.bondware.com/~Louisiana_Weekly/news.php?NewsSectionId=56.

Christopher Tidmore hosts Louisiana Roundtable from 3-4 PM CST on WSLA 1560 AM New Orleans & KKAY 1590 AM Baton Rouge, on the web at www.globalradiokkay.com.  Call in your comments, 504-482-6344.