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John Georges for Mayor

The Race for Mayor:
It’s Gonna Take A Lot of Love
Anitra D. Brown

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The Race for Mayor:
It’s Gonna Take A Lot of Love

During his last term in office, Mayor C. Ray Nagin faced a phenomenal task—spearheading and overseeing New Orleans’ recovery from the worst natural disaster to hit America in modern history.

To be sure, New Orleans’ next mayor will have an equally monumental task before him or her—continuing to that recovery, throwing it into overdrive, in fact.

Ask any of the candidates why they are running and one theme is repeated incessantly—love. Each declares an overriding affinity for the city. Well, if love is indeed the driving force, it’s going to take a lot it.

And that love must be accompanied by a desire and a real plan to change New Orleans for the better, guide the continued recovery, improve infrastructure, rebuild housing, reopen hospitals, and enhance—if not transform—the economy.

For Black New Orleanians, the needs are even more specific. Black and other minority-owned businesses must be assured a fair-share of the recovery dollars that are destined for the city. Economic development can’t trickle down; instead it must be shared so that good-paying jobs and business opportunities are available to all New Orleanians.

To that end, much must also be done to educate and develop a workforce, especially within the African-American community, that is ready to take advantage of the opportunities not only created by the recovery but also those spurred by a technology-driven, increasingly global 21st century society.

At the same time, all of our neighborhoods must be rebuilt, our communities must be safe, and efforts must be made to restore our population to its pre-Katrina levels—preferably by encouraging those still dispersed to return home.

In addition to assembling his or her own executive team, the new mayor will have the important task of leading the search for a new chief of police. The mayor must also maintain his autonomy as the city’s top executive, while striking a balance that results in a working relationship with other elected officials to ensure that the citizens are best served.

And then there are those areas not under the mayor’s control, such as education, that are still in dire need of reshaping and rebuilding. How will the city’s next mayor use the position of power to at least make a difference in such arenas.

In short, there is a lot of work ahead—work that will define and redefine New Orleans for generations to come.

To that end, several candidates have qualified to run for the city’s top post; and The New Orleans Tribune has spent some time interviewing and researching those candidates viewed as the top contenders for the position that will determine the future of New Orleans.

John Georges

Crime, effective and open government, jobs and economic development are among the issues John Georges has identified as ones that will command his attention as mayor.

In the areas of crime, Georges has said he will hold regular neighborhood meetings to encourage citizen input into public safety policies and practices, and allow police to keep citizens informed about efforts in their neighborhoods.

As for effective and open government, Georges supports the inspector general’s office with appropriate oversight.

He has been a strong proponant of reopening Charity Hospital and a hospital for New Orleans East.

In the area of economic development, he promises to increase neighborhood commercial districts that will include full service restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies and other needed services; provide more parking in the French Quarter near the river to attract more visitors to French Quarter businesses; and focus on completing existing recovery projects.

In a Georges' administration, all current city contracts will be reviewed but those that are performing well will be kept. He believes in doing business with locals, people in the city who can effectively do the job, and he is a strong supporter of the city's DBE ordinance now on the books.
Georges, 49, is the chairman of Georges Enterprises.

He is married and the father of three.

For more information on mayoral candidate John Georges, go to www.georgesformayor.com.