Dark Side of the Moon Jr.; Mitch Manipulates the Game

Mitch Landrieu ran on a campaign of transparency & cultural advocacy. As things appear today, nothing could be further from the truth. It appears that his 'cultural advocacy' means selling us out for tourist dollars, and his 'transparency' is to find others to do his bidding, circumventing the processes through which we, the citizens, get our voice.


 Much has been said about the Hospitality District, run by a board of business people with 'experience' in the tourism trade, at least half of whom are to be Mayoral Appointees, with no term limit or electoral process, serving entirely at the Mayor's whim. They, too, would decide exactly how much of the tax revenue, which they will require from those they do not represent, will be allocated to either of their missions; improvement of our infrastructure, and advertising for tourism. 

 Since many of these people own, or are paid to run, tourist service industries, why would they spend a dime more on infrastructure than they have to, preferring instead, to drive those funds towards the enterprises that serve them, and allegedly create new tax revenue for the city. According to sources, there are millions of dollars of unpaid taxes from these sources, already, that the city is unable or unwilling to collect.

 Why then, would Mayor Landrieu be supporting this bill, going so far as to urge local law makers to Baton Rouge in it's favor, while publicly distancing himself from it in local news? Because eventually have to run for re-election, and will stand on his record of 'transparency', even though he secretly pulls these strings from behind the scenes. At the same time, he builds a power base among heavy hitters in a New Orleans & Louisiana financial power base, perhaps designed as a prospective governor's war chest, and the Ongoing Lie that he is 'saving & rebuilding New Orleans'. 
By the way, Mitch, stop saying 'New Or Lee Ans'. 
It makes you sound like a farm boy pretending to be Thurston Howell III.
New Orlenz.
Three easy syllables.
That's all it takes.
Anyway...


Simultaneously, the NOPD has released figures claiming that the New Orleans murder rate is down to 45 this quarter, from about 60, last year at this time. While that gives an annual projection of 180, down from 199 in 2011, the year before, the Murder Capital figures were actually less;

"New Orleans saw homicides jump by 14 percent last year (2011), ending the year with 199 killings. For the previous three years, the murder rate in New Orleans had stabilized at around 175 killings a year. Even that number was a staggering amount that gave New Orleans the highest per-capita murder rate in the country by a comfortable margin."

A rate of 180 against a previous 'murder capital' total of 175 doesn't sound like much improvement to me.

 At the same time, armed robbery is up by a reported 58%, and simple robbery is up over 100%. It would seem that making his buddy, Ronal Serpas, do his job more efficiently, would lead to better tourism numbers than taxing of local communities by a mayoral appointment committee who then gets to spend the money getting richer by advertising their own interests, and, in fact, having the power to take personal property by right of eminent domain.

But that would involve work & responsibility.

 Besides this behind-the-scenes manipulation to levee taxes & steal property from the local citizenry, Mitch has also got a hand in local elections. When he backed Cynthia Willard-Lewis against Stacy Head in the Council Person at Large race, Landrieu was clearly looking for a friendly voice on the City Council, as Willard-Lewis certainly was, and, in conjunction with New Orleans City Council members Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, and Jon Johnson, formed a nice little cabal to back his plays. Its also very likely that Mitch intended to corral the black voters support by doing so.


 As Head won this race, and the Council moved to see her choice of replacement, Errol George, ratified as Council person for District B, both Willard-Lewis & Johnson walked out and have yet to return, making it impossible form George to be ratified without the 5 person majority required.
What will happen if Willard-Lewis & Johnson don't come back any time soon? As of June, the District B position falls to an appointment by...
That's right;
The Mayor.


Is this really why so many voted for Mitch 'Moon Jr.' Landrieu?
I could have sworn it was for a promise of transparency, fair play, cultural development, and representation of the People of New Orleans, rather than the same Old Boy networking that put his life long friend in charge of the NOPD, urging other law makers to back his play for taxation without representation, giving the money to a board of big shot tourism fat cats, appointed without limit or public vetting, and getting Council Members to find wiggle room for him to change the very membership of the City Council, BY NOT SHOWING UP FOR WORK, all via political trickery, technical details and manipulations.


 Keep this in mind as the next Mayoral Election comes to New Orleans. We are being openly swindled, driven from our own town in favor a NFL ass kissing and Disney style selling out, and cheated out of our own voice in government, all by the man who swore to act with transparency & respect.

 This comes after a solid year of Permit Wars, in which minor artists, street musicians, parade groups and independent galleries were crushed by police raids, some noted for their sheer brutality, evidence of which has been 'lost', although the citizenry charged in these 'missing evidence' cases continue to face incarceration, while the brutality charges against police have been simply dropped.

And just from me, Mitch;
 Thanks for quoting Jesus at all those public meetings when you were planning to fuck us in the end, anyway, you lying son-of-a-bitch.

I hope he heard you, if only to ensure you, and Ronnie, a special place in hell.