New Orleans District A Councilwoman Shelley Midura surprised some by her announcement that she would not run for a second term.The man who would have been her likely opponent, former Councilman Jay Batt, immediately sent a statement that commended Midura’s efforts—and all but telegraphed a likely run regardless.
In a breaking story, The Louisiana Weekly and Bayoubuzz.com have learned that another potential candidate for the District A seat will not be a contender.Many sources, including the daily paper speculated that State Representative Neil Abramson might throw his proverbial “hat in the ring”.In a brief interview late Wednesday, Abramson said that he was quite happy in his current position, and simply to the question of whether he would run, he said the answer was “no”.It was a positive result for Batt who hoped to avoid another challenger with high name recognition in the Uptown area.
In an extended statement on Wednesday, Midura wrote, “After much thought and reflection, I have decided that I will not be a candidate for re-election to the District "A" City Council seat in 2010. Having experienced first-hand the challenges of running a long-shot campaign in 2006, I wanted to make this decision publicly as early as possible for the benefit of potential candidates in District ‘A’ so they may have enough time to decide whether to seek election. I believe the City Council will benefit from continued new blood at the dais and look forward to supporting a candidate who will pick up the mantle of reform and continue the march toward good government.” Midura, known as one of the most outspoken members of the Council went on to bemoan the political ambition found in her fellow politicians.“My personal goal for public service never was to build a Midura family political machine. Indeed, career public servants too often forget that "service" is to the public, rather than to themselves. Too often the political courage needed to confront the most difficult decisions we as public officials must make is compromised in the quest for re-election or election to the next public office.”
She concluded, “What troubles me most about New Orleans is the democracy gap between the priorities of the people and the priorities of the decision-makers in power. Too many of our elected officials and influential citizens continue to do the public wrong by protecting the status quo or their own self-interest. Rather than using data or best practices or evidence of success, policy and budget decisions with long-term consequences for the City's future are too often made in the absence of sufficient public input, and instead on the basis of personal whim, anecdotal evidence, or alliance with entrenched institutions that have much to lose or gain by a given decision. Make no mistake about it: defending the status quo is not in the best interest of this City, and anyone who does so is not putting the City's interest ahead of their own. The status quo has not worked, is not working, and will not work to make New Orleans a world-class city. I will spend the last year or so of my term fighting adherents to the status quo, as I believe our greatest hope for the future lies in continued reform.” On the surface, the comments seem to be targeted at Councilwoman’s usual foes while in office, including the Nagin administration.But the comment “adherents to the status quo” closely resembled an attack that Midura used against the man she very narrowly defeated nearly four years ago, Jay Batt.
A former State Department careerist, Midura jumped into the council race against Batt as an ally of the preservationist community--attacking the incumbent for allowing the demolition of several Uptown houses that stood in the way of planned expansions of Stuart Hall School and for allowing the expansion of the Maple St. Bar Bruno’s and the construction of a new hotel in the French Quarter.
Midura argued that all three moves undermined the surrounding neighborhoods.Batt countered that the expansion of schools and local businesses improved the surrounding areas by restoring properties in dilapidated states, and consequently, caused the neighborhoods to thrive.
The race entered its bitterest moments when Midura charged that Batt was too close to Entergy New Orleans, implying a lack of oversight in his role as utility regulator for Orleans Parish.Batt countered that Midura’s policies, not his, would lead to higher electric costs, and highlighted her support of Section 8 housing in the slowly recovering Lakeview area.
As with many past races for the Council A seat, the race devolved in large part into a Lakeview versus Uptown contest.By the somewhat odd nature of its design, the district often pits the silk stocking, historic districts of Uptown against the more suburban Lakeview.The two areas are alike solely in their preponderance, in Orleans Parish at least, of white, relatively conservative voters.In the details of development, what works in Laissez-faire Lakeview often fails in tightly zoned Uptown.
As a result, the Council District A seat often is inhabited by one term incumbents, resulting from either frustration in attempting to balance the widely different needs of the diverse district (Midura and former Councilman Bryan Wagner) or from narrow electoral defeats due to those divergent issues (former Councilmen Scott Shea and Jay Batt).
[Ironically, both Shea and Batt lived in Lakeview, but in their two contests, Batt garnered more Uptown support than Shea, who was often viewed as the Lakeview candidate.Four years after Batt triumphed over Shea, Batt was perceived as the Lakeview candidate.]
In 2006, Batt nearly won re-election, earning 49% in the primary against a crowded field.In the runoff, though, Midura gained the margin of difference from Uptown activists already angry at Batt, and from a factor that had not mattered in nearly a generation in District A—Democratic Party registration.
African-American voters, worried about a white takeover of the Mayor’s office, turned out in droves to support Ray Nagin’s re-election.While Batt had enjoyed support from key African-American groups like B.O.L.D. and from the Black press, the “D” behind Midura’s name in the voting booth made a significant difference.The upsurge in Black voters in District A matched by conservative white voters so discontented with their two choices for Mayor Ray Nagin and Mitch Landrieu that they stayed home proved enough for Democrat Shelley Midura to emerge victorious..
The problem was, that while the district remains overwhelmingly Democratic in voter registration and has prominent African-American enclaves in Hollygrove, Mid-City, and along River Road, the seat still stands out as the City’s only strongly Republican enclave.All things being equal, in a straight GOP-Democratic contest, the Republican usually has an advantage—regardless of geography.
Batt realized this, and has spent most of the last four years carefully building the foundation of a political comeback.Elected the Chairman of the Orleans Parish Republican Party, Batt sought to sooth the ruffled feathers of partisans in Uptown that had opposed his development policies while in office.
He also changed the bylaws of the Orleans Parish Republican Executive Committee that let him build up political markers among Midura’s Democratic base, even in the African-American community.New Orleans is one of the few parishes/counties in the nation where (thanks to Batt’s reforms) the GOP can officially endorse a Democrat in a contest where there are no Republican candidates running--or in the runoff.
The Republican nod, ironically enough, has become the most sought after endorsement in Orleans Parish elections, even perhaps to a greater degree than the approval of the local chapter of the Alliance for Good Government.Especially, when two African-American contenders faced one another, Republican support has repeatedly proven the difference in the past few years in closely fought contests.
Batt, as the serving Chairman and Godfather to the reforms, is often credited by the victorious Democrats with their victories, and has managed to rebuild his political reputation in the predominantly Democratic City—as Midura’s has fallen with that same constituency.
An unfortunate side-effect of her reform stands on the Council has resulted in an increasingly strained reputation with the Black clergy, often angry at her comments and stands.It would be hard enough for a Democrat to with District A under normal circumstances.Add a group of African-American ministers, many from Hollygrove and Mid-City, who have expressed hope that you would not win re-election, and a Democrat is doomed.
Especially, when the Republican challenger in question has gone out of his way to court those same opinion makers as Batt has done for the last four years.
In a sense, much like his first defeat at the hands of Scott Shea, Batt used the intervening years to garner the backing of many of his previous political foes.It has reportedly worked, as the candidate was the favorite in a Midura/Batt rematch, several friends of Midura admitted privately to this newspaper.
Midura also had understandable personal reasons for not running for re-election.She has commuted weekly to the WashingtonDC area to see her children and her husband, who’s job relocated him to the Capitol shortly after her election to the City Council.Moreover, Midura’s own personal code of ethics prevented her from enjoying many of the perks of office.. She would not allow anyone, regardless of position to purchase her meals or drinks, and unlike the entire rest of the council, turned in her city car, and used her own mode of transport.
On a $42,000 salary, Midura’s ethics, and the cost of maintaining a residence in New Orleans when her family lived elsewhere, were each an expensive undertaking.
Batt was magnanimious when Midura announced her decision on Wednesday, and likewise made quite clear that he would be her successor."I applaud Councilmember Midura on her decision and her efforts. My desire to further serve the citizens of New Orleans has been no secret. I will have a formal announcement of my intentions in the near future.”
The announcement by Neil Abramson that the State Representative had no plans to run proved doubly good for Batt.To emerge victorious next spring, Batt must secure his Lakeview base and not face a serious Uptown contender.In recent months, the former Councilman made peace with his former adversaries, the Shea family, playing a large role in the election of Judge Shea, brother of the former Councilman.
Possible opponents Uptown have seen a charm initiative that has proven successful.The field has reportedly dwindled to Karen Gadbois, an activist who founded the Web site squanderedheritage.com; Deborah Langhoff, a Lakeview resident who made a failed bid for the state House from Lakeview in 2007; Dr. James Moises, a former Charity Hospital physician who has advocated reopening the facility; and Cecile Tebo, director of the New Orleans Police Department's mental health crisis unit.
Considering the competitive nature of the District A seat, one might have expected more names to be mentioned, by the daily paper and others.But, Jay Batt has a way of winning the support of those who oppose him.
Nick Larusso entered politics by running against Jay Batt.Two and a half years later, he was Batt’s Campaign Chairman, and five years later, with Batt’s help, a State Representative.
by Christopher Tidmore hosts The Political Roundtable on KKAY 1590 AM Donaldsonville/Baton Rouge from 4-5 PM weekdays or on the web at www.kkay1590.com.
New Orleans District A Councilwoman Shelley Midura surprised some by her announcement that she would not run for a second term.
