Hurricane Katrina Aftermath (and other stuff I find interesting)

Normally I don't think endorsements are very significant at all. People don't really pay attention to them for major races, just for minor ones where they're not paying much attention at all.

However, when the 80 year old African-American newspaper in town makes its endorsements, these usually do carry some weight. The main surprise in this was the endorsement of Nick Varrechio over Arthur Morrell for Clerk of Criminal court. This is a tight race, and I've heard lots of positive things about Varrechio. Morrell has been a outspoken state Rep, but he's not getting the good press around town about his clerk candidacy.

Among other races, they reiterated their primary endorsement of Landrieu for mayor, Batt, Gill-Pratt, and Carter for city council, and the IQ ticket for assessor. Chase Jones & Betty Jefferson's debate on channel 6 a couple nights ago was enthralling, as Betty Jefferson just sat there with the complete and total air of contempt, obviously amazed that anybody would question her ability to be assessor. After all, her family has been the assessor for that district for decades! The newspaper has this to say about its IQ endorsement:

"We enthusiastically back the IQ ticket, but add a warning. The reason that
property assessments should reflect accuracy is so that the milliage rates of
all can be reduced to a more nationally competitive level.

This would decrease the disincentives that our property tax rates have created for
small business. If the end of accurate assessments is only to provide a stealth
tax increase with no direct benefits to the public, by keeping milliage levels
constant, the IQ candidates will have failed."

The other surprise was the non-endorsement in the at-large City Council race. This is going to be quite a close race, probably closer than the mayoral balloting for good or bad.