Some Questions for Our Mayor
What is your plan to recreate what little middle class New Orleans had pre-Katrina? What about the nurses, teachers, social workers, professors, business owners, principals, etc. who lost their jobs and their houses, primarily in New Orleans East and Gentilly? What will you do to draw jobs other than in tourism and service?
What is your plan to deal with the crisis in property taxes? We have a fractured, corrupt and ridiculously inequitable property tax system with well-connected assessors and generous donors whose donations save them $10K/year+ on property taxes.
How will you put the blame and pressure on the Army Corps of Engineers, Congress and the White House?
How can you please the groups who voted for you, African Americans of all economic classes and largely white conservative businessmen? Their interests conflict. Who will win when?
What will be done about the obscene amount of blighted housing in the up-and-running parts of the city? Central City is full of entire blocks that can and should be razed and redeveloped for working and middle class people, blocks that could quickly repopulate the city and provide the housing and workers needed.
Knowing that the mayor has little direct control over the public schools, what will you do in this new administration to alleviate the social and political problems that helped the schools deteriorate and decline?
What will happen to the housing projects left? Will they, too, be handed over to private developers who solicit federal funds then create blocks of housing few New Orleanians (and I mean gainfully employed people) can afford? Will private developers be allowed to add more $300K condominiums and $700K townhouses to a city with little economy outside of fast food, restaurants, bars and retail stores?
Will you use the money you have solicited to keep City Hall running to pay City Hall workers enough to stay off food stamps, not qualify for Section 8 housing and maybe even be able to live in post-Katrina New Orleans?
And sir, will you please stop acting like a preacher? Do I have to hear "God" every time you open your mouth?
What is your plan to deal with the crisis in property taxes? We have a fractured, corrupt and ridiculously inequitable property tax system with well-connected assessors and generous donors whose donations save them $10K/year+ on property taxes.
How will you put the blame and pressure on the Army Corps of Engineers, Congress and the White House?
How can you please the groups who voted for you, African Americans of all economic classes and largely white conservative businessmen? Their interests conflict. Who will win when?
What will be done about the obscene amount of blighted housing in the up-and-running parts of the city? Central City is full of entire blocks that can and should be razed and redeveloped for working and middle class people, blocks that could quickly repopulate the city and provide the housing and workers needed.
Knowing that the mayor has little direct control over the public schools, what will you do in this new administration to alleviate the social and political problems that helped the schools deteriorate and decline?
What will happen to the housing projects left? Will they, too, be handed over to private developers who solicit federal funds then create blocks of housing few New Orleanians (and I mean gainfully employed people) can afford? Will private developers be allowed to add more $300K condominiums and $700K townhouses to a city with little economy outside of fast food, restaurants, bars and retail stores?
Will you use the money you have solicited to keep City Hall running to pay City Hall workers enough to stay off food stamps, not qualify for Section 8 housing and maybe even be able to live in post-Katrina New Orleans?
And sir, will you please stop acting like a preacher? Do I have to hear "God" every time you open your mouth?
Tags: New Orleans, Ray Nagin , ray nagin
G Bitch at 12:19 PM
2 Comments:
Excellent questions. Could we get him to answer them live and impromptu before a camera? I guess not, but in some countries that would be considered normal, and he would be expected to have something cogent to say.
i've been wanting to know forever--how is the treme district doing? that's where the color of violence conference was, and i've been doing some fundraising for the women's center being created down there--i just gotta know, how's it doing? i've not asked anybody for so long because i just didn't think i could hear it if it was ripped up too badly, but now that i know that there's so much radical fighting going on, i can hear it, you know?
ps. i've tried to keep my mouth shut on nagin, as he's not my mayor, and i don't want to add any fuel to the fire, but if he were my mayor, i don't think i'd be too happy with the man...
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