While the media spotlight on October 4, 2008 will be in on the newly rescheduled Second Congressional District primary, Hurricane Gustav aside, the critical underlying theme of most of the remaining political contests will be skyrocketing crime--throughout the Southshore.

            From the Orleans DA to Judicial candidates across the region to a Metairie State Senate race, the central topic is rising crime, and how the system can adapt to fight the rising recidivism rate amongst violent criminals.  Three recent polls list crime as the number one issue of voters not only in Orleans , but in once placid Jefferson .

            With some NOPD insiders blaming the spike in murders on only thirty violent criminals who have rotated in and out of arrests thanks to the dysfunction of Eddie Jordan’s office, how to fight recidivism has become the central topic of the hotly contested District Attorney’s Race in Orleans Parish.

            Currently, Leon Cannizzaro appears the prohibitive front-runner in the essentially three way contest.  With the endorsements of the Alliance for Good Government, the AFL-CIO, and the vast majority of the elected officials in Orleans , the State Appellate Court judge, who left his post to run for the DA’s position, leads in most polls.

            He certainly champions the money contest with a campaign war chest amounting to multiples of his two rivals. 

            Cannizzaro, a past Assistant District Attorney and Criminal District Court Judge in Orleans Parish, has focused his race on two factors, restoring a sense of balance to the DA’s office and championing an expanded Drug Court Program that stop first time offenders from returning to criminal justice system.

            The latter is a program close to Cannizzaro’s heart.  As a Criminal Court Judge, he was one of the first jurists in the nation to create a dedicated drug court.  Fridays were reserved for first time offenders on drug related charges.  If they got drug treatment, held a job, and stayed in school, they could avoid jail time.  But, the program was not easy.  The offender had to appear every two weeks in Cannizzaro’s court, before the judge, with his paycheck stubs and proof that he was keeping his promises—for a period of two years.

            The success rate was well over 80% in fighting recidivism, and Cannizzaro points out that the same could be have been accomplished on a wider-scale by the District Attorney’s Diversion programs, but no one has been interested up until now, he claims, either in Eddie Jordan’s office or amongst those who served his longtime predecessor Harry Connick.

            Cannizzaro wants to open the program on a widescale basis to non-violent offenders, to keep the mostly young arrestees out of jail and into a job before they become a societal menace.  As the Judge puts it, “Once their in prison and exposed to the harden criminals, it is too late..”

            The Judge also wants to bring balance to the District Attorney’s office that has experienced massive firings and a racial discrimination case in the last year, something upon which his fellow Caucasian Democratic rival Ralph Capitelli has banked his entire election effort.

            If Cannizzaro is running against a dysfunctional system, Capitelli wants to return to the more apt operation of the Harry Connick era with a focus on stronger prosecutions and more criminals off the street.  He is the endorsed candidate of former DA Connick and many of the rank and file police organizations.  

            Capitelli speaks to the anxiety of a city besieged by crime, and has pledged hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money on the race.  He is the preferred candidate of most of the former Assistant District Attorneys, and besides stronger enforcement advocates devoting resources to protecting victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process.

          As he explained, “Too often, victim and witness intimidation is a major cause that has allowed criminal conduct and drug crimes on the part of repeat offenders and gangs to flourish.”

         His answer is to consistently and diligently enforce current laws and strengthen existing programs to protect and relocate witnesses and combat witness intimidation and expedite the trial of those cases where witness intimidation is anticipated.   He also seeks to establish and budget for a specialized prosecution unit, comprised of veteran prosecutors with demonstrated experience and prosecutorial ability, to concentrate efforts on the City’s most violent offenders.

         The veteran prosecutor has narrowly led in many polls in recent weeks, but his work in private practice in recent years may have provided a rather daunting electoral challenge.

            Capitelli was the attorney for the Razoo Bouncers, a racially charged case deeply unpopular in the African-American community.  While he has rescued himself from the case since announcing for DA last year, his efforts to move the case to another parish in the attempt to gain a more sympathetic jury pool has opened the DA candidate to angry charges from his opponents.

            Edging between the other two contenders is the primary African-American in the race.  Twenty-eight year old Jason Rogers Williams is the son-in-law of former New Orleans Mayor Sidney Barthelemy and enters the race with little money but extensive support amongst the remaining African-American political organizations in the city post-Katrina. 

            While not as strong as they were before the storm thanks to a disbursed membership and radically reduced Black electorate, they still have considerable clout.   The question remains, though, can they propel Williams, an articulate candidate who nonetheless has never served on the prosecutorial side of the criminal justice system into a runoff.

            For that is the essence of Williams’ strategy.  He speaks honestly of his plans to expand diversionary programs on the DA’s level, born of his experiences as a Defense Attorney, but he recognizes turn out trends in November may be the key to his election.

            With Barack Obama heading the ticket, an African-American, regardless of his experience or qualifications, would have a sizable advantage in a still majority Black city where African-American turnout is expected to near 100%. 

            In October, however, turnout is expected to be limited to regular chronic voters, and under those circumstances, a bare majority of the electorate would probably be White or Hispanic, favoring Cannizzaro and Capitelli.   Should the two Caucasian candidates make a runoff together, the field is open to either, though Cannizzaro’s long experience in garnering Black votes may put him at some advantage.  But, if Williams is in the runoff with either, Obama may determine New Orleans’ next DA.

            Meanwhile, a race that might affect turnout in Orleans are the competitive Criminal District Court races, where—particularly--former Assistant District Attorney Lionel Lon Burns seeks to unseat Chief Judge Arthur Hunter.  Using criticisms from the Metropolitan Crime Commission and victims groups, Burns claims that Hunter has over employed his release power and has not sufficiently kept criminals off the streets.  Hunter counters that he is bound by the law, and any releases have been beyond his power

            Burns also critiques Hunter as Chief Judge for having done nothing to prepare for the merger of the Criminal and Civil Courts in 2014. 

            Open Criminal Court seats in Sections F & I center around which candidate can keep criminals must off the streets, putting the law and order platform most prevalent in an Orleans Judicial race in years.

            In same can be said of two judicial races in Jefferson.   School Board member Ellen Shirer Kovach and Attorney Ray Steib both cite State Supreme Court reprimands of sitting 24th JDC Section K Judge Martha E. Sassone of improper conduct during the very sensational C-Murder case.   The rarity of a challenge of judicial incumbent by one, much less two, well-financed candidates in Jefferson, shows the anxiety of the public towards any weakness in the criminal arena.

            That issue has been the central fact in the competitive judgeship race in Kenner where veteran prosecutor and Aaron Broussard Daughter-in-Law Norma Becerra Broussard faces Attorney Nancy Miller.   Rising crime rates have been a frequent topic in forums in that contest would covers more than half of Louisiana ’s Fifth Largest City .

            It has also been the main topic in Metairie, where former School Board member Dr. Polly Thomas makes her third attempt to win the State Senate seat (recently vacated by Congressman Steve Scalise).  Long the criminal justice candidate, Thomas has talked of providing resources on the legislative level to fight crime.

            She is in a close three way contest with businessman Conrad Appel and former Parish Presidential contender Al Leone.   Both have emphasized the same. 

            Polls in that contest show a consistent three way tie, with large portion of the public undecided.  Thomas enjoys the loyalist group of supporters, according to three separate surveys, but faces worries for waving voters thanks to her three attempts to claim the seat.

            Appel has the backing of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) as well as the most money in the race.  As the former Chairman of the Port of New Orleans, his focus is economic development, but Sheriff Newell Norman is a key supporter and plans to cut ads for Appel in coming weeks.

            Leone hopes to parlay the public anger he tapped into in his run against Aaron Broussard and turn that into a runoff slot.  While money favors Appel, and core support Thomas, Leone has kept competitive with both candidates in every single survey.  Senate District 9 includes Central Metairie, Old Jefferson, and part of Old Metairie.

            Crime is already an issue in the other elections that were originally scheduled for September 6, 2008, those running for Harahan Council and the Mayoralty of Westwego.  Even the School Board elections across the region mention the subject of crime and its impact on education. 

            The primary election is Saturday, October 4, 2008.