There is an election in only a few days in New Orleans and most voters seem not only uninvolved, but bored by the mayor’s race. In fact, the excitement level is so low that total voter turnout might not exceed 80,000 on Election Day.

Why such disinterest? The issues are huge and the stakes are very high. Still, voters are not excited by this field of mayoral candidates. Several of the major candidates are relatively unknown, while others have run for office before and lost elections.

In addition, quite a few voters think the race is over and that Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu will win in a landslide. However, I would advise against such a premature analysis. While most polls show Landrieu way in front, polls for the Georges campaign show that the number of undecided voters is increasing. They believe that each day Georges hits Landrieu with blistering television commercials, Landrieu loses support. Rob Couhig agrees and believes that Landrieu hit his high point on the day he announced his campaign for Mayor and that it has been downhill ever since for the Lt. Governor.  We will soon see if these predictions are accurate, but we do know that Landrieu’s entry forced two major candidates, Leslie Jacobs and Ed Murray, to withdraw from the race.  

This election season has featured voter forums almost every night. However, it has not translated into voter interest. People are clearly more excited about the Saints and the upcoming Mardi Gras season. Yet, this election is more important the football or carnival, for it may determine the future of New Orleans.

Over the past forty years, New Orleans has lost 50% of its population. With the double disasters of Hurricane Katrina and Ray Nagin, New Orleans has been especially harmed in the last eight years. At this point, the city needs a bold, innovative leader who can move New Orleans forward and deal with the challenges ahead.

New Orleans has major problems such as crime, crumbling infrastructure, blight, poor drainage and rampant political corruption. The next Mayor will be facing a major challenge and will need tremendous support to succeed. It is time that voters started to pay attention to what is happening so that they can make the best possible decision on February 6th..

Based on the litany of problems that now beset New Orleans, there is little debate that the track record of the voters has been quite poor. While hope springs eternal, it is obvious that the voters of New Orleans cannot afford to make another mistake on February 6th.

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Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,� which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m.weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.