DesertFox
04-15-2006, 07:12 PM
Robert Tanner
Yahoo News
15 Apr 06
... Some people in New Orleans are angry about the government response to Hurricane Katrina and want to render judgment as the city casts ballots for mayor, city council and most every other elected official, from sheriff to assessor. Many want to look ahead.
But trumping all that as Election Day approaches, race — and all the history that comes with it here — has become the defining line for this election, dividing the city by neighborhood and color.
Any verdict on Mayor Ray Nagin's leadership, or any of the proposals to move forward, has been swallowed up by recriminations, paranoia and anger. There is fear — and hope — that the city may elect its first white mayor in three decades.
The election on Saturday has been vehemently challenged by those who say it should be postponed until more of those who left in the city's diaspora — more likely black and more likely poor — can find their way back. But early voting, so far, mostly reflects the racial demographics of pre-Katrina New Orleans.
More (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060415/ap_on_el_st_lo/new_orleans_election)
Yahoo News
15 Apr 06
... Some people in New Orleans are angry about the government response to Hurricane Katrina and want to render judgment as the city casts ballots for mayor, city council and most every other elected official, from sheriff to assessor. Many want to look ahead.
But trumping all that as Election Day approaches, race — and all the history that comes with it here — has become the defining line for this election, dividing the city by neighborhood and color.
Any verdict on Mayor Ray Nagin's leadership, or any of the proposals to move forward, has been swallowed up by recriminations, paranoia and anger. There is fear — and hope — that the city may elect its first white mayor in three decades.
The election on Saturday has been vehemently challenged by those who say it should be postponed until more of those who left in the city's diaspora — more likely black and more likely poor — can find their way back. But early voting, so far, mostly reflects the racial demographics of pre-Katrina New Orleans.
More (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060415/ap_on_el_st_lo/new_orleans_election)