In the middle of all the Saints hoopla New Orleans had an election and we will have our first white mayor in over 30 years. He won every precinct except one. That means that we have a white mayor because black voters put him there. I hate to say I told you so but when Ed Murray dropped out of the race I predicted this. The outcome of this election should send a message to the leaders in our community. There needs to be a change and a shift in our approach. I was going to put all of this into one post but I decided to break it down a little further. Since I already wrote the post I linked to about this I will be brief.
I know the history of the city and what it means to have black leadership. Keep in mind that I am 35 years old and the first black mayor was elected when I was 3. That means that for my generation and those behind me we don’t have any personal memories of the same struggle. All we have is a lifetime of living here under declining conditions and difficult circumstances. We have been here looking at opportunity and people leave us behind for greener pastures. It just so happens that the whole time we couldn’t find a good job, the school system was failing us, and we were all scared of the NOPD black people were running these entities. Instead of being angry at them for not coming out to vote and doing research, go to the hood and find out where we went wrong. I think this is a perfect opportunity for a rebirth of grassroots leaders that are born out of real action for the community. I truly believe that the people will engage in the process again if they think the system can work for them.
You would think that after writing a blog every week during this great season I would have saved the best for last. Honestly, I have nothing to say except it feels just like I thought it would. I'll let the outcome speak for itself.
This is the day we have all been waiting for. I have never seen the city this excited about anything. This week people have been randomly shouting “WHO DAT!” to total strangers and giving one another high fives. I love it. I don’t know how long it’s going to last but if things get out of hand and people start bickering at least we have a point of reference to remind them of how it feels to be unified about something. It’s been very hard for me to get the same nervous and paranoid feeling that I usually have for a big Saints game. I really wanted the team to play in the Superbowl and I never really changed my agenda to winning it. I am already so satisfied that I can’t get it going for today. I hope the team isn’t feeling the same way I do.
Some people in the national media really got upset when we beat Brett Favre and have refused to give us any respect for being in the championship. If you listen to some of them it was like the Vikings were ahead in the game 28-0 and Brett’s intercept was worth 28 points at the end. For years I have listened to these experts give good teams credit for not beating themselves and taking advantage of the other team’s mistakes. The Saints did it to Brett Favre and suddenly they are not worthy of being in the game. That kind of stuff has made me not watch a lot of pregame coverage. I wasn’t letting their sour grapes take my joy.
I don’t think our team has gotten enough credit. Football is a team sport. No one player can be so good that he can make up for the other 52 guys. It just doesn’t happen. If that was the case Peyton Manning would have 8 Superbowl rings by now. Other guys have to step up. That’s what made this season special for the Saints. There hasn’t been enough mention of the fact that we played a full season with an untested backup left tackle after Jamaal Brown was injured. That usually spells doom for a team and he more than held his own. There hasn’t been enough mentioned that one of our starting defensive tackles was hurt early on and that there was a stretch in the middle of the season where both starters were hurt and a bunch of guys no one heard of played their hearts out and held up just enough for us to win those games. It was around this same time that both of our starting cornerbacks were hurt too and we fought through it with Randall Gay, a rookie, and some guys we had to sign off the street. We beat New England on Monday night with this lineup. I would for someone to mention that our fullback Heath Evans got hurt and our leading receiver from last year only played in a few games yet we still managed to lead the league in scoring. We didn’t have one running back with 2000 yards but we had three backs combine for over 1800 yards. Don’t get me started on Anthony Hargrove. We have had the ultimate example of 53 guys working together to do something special and these groupies want to make it seem like we are a charity case. We are a really good team and there’s no reason we can’t beat the Colts.
We are in the big game. Rickey Jackson made the Hall of Fame. The city feels good about itself. I can’t ask for much more. Let’s finish strong and see what happens. I’m going to light this grill and get my food ready. We’ll talk when it’s over.
The picture above has been the desktop wallpaper on my computer all year. When the Saints got to 7-0 I refused to take down this picture until the season was over. Rickey Jackson is going to the NFL Hall of Fame. It's only fitting he would make it in the year the team broke through to the Superbowl. He's been my all time favorite Saints player for 30 years and he deserves this recognition. A lot of fans won't know much about his career when they see he made it but if you watched him play in his prime you know the only thing he didn't have was enough quality teammates and a big market to give him the proper exposure.
This has been the greatest season ever even if tomorrow doesn't go well. Congratulations Rickey.
Tomorrow night New Orleans will have elected a new mayor or shrunk the candidates down to two for a runoff. I watched the last televised debate last night. I have been following everything since the beginning. Most of my friends seem to think that the major candidates are interchangeable. That says to me that anything can happen tomorrow because there are enough folks who are going to walk into the booth and make their decision at the last minute. I am not totally sold on any particular candidate either. I have a few favorites but there has never been a point where I knew for sure what my vote would be. I think it would be a good idea to write out what I feel about each of the major candidates to see if people have seen the campaign the way I have.
Nadine Ramsey: If I were voting strictly on personal bias she would be my choice. We are from the same area and I am comfortable with her. It took her a minute to get her legs in the race but she has performed pretty well lately. There is a part of me that hopes she doesn’t win but chooses to stay involved in politics as voice in the community because we could use a few more voices that operate out of the political circle. Everyone doesn’t have to hold an office to be effective. If she did win my biggest concern would be her stage presence. She seems to be a little nervous in front of the camera and the mayor will be staring down the media every day. That could be a problem for her.
Rob Couhig: I am going to say something that may seem a little crazy. If Rob Couhig were black or an old school white democrat and said some of the things he has during the forum he might win the election. The problem is he’s a Republican in a heavily Democratic city. His party hasn’t done him any favors either nationally with the over the top reaction to President Obama. I think he ran this time around just to get his agenda out in the open and go after Mitch Landrieu. If makes the runoff it would be more surprising than the Saints in the Superbowl.
John Georges: The most confusing person in this race. He doesn’t need the money. He’s getting endorsements from everywhere and from people of all races. He sounds like he understands the problems of the poor and disenfranchised. He sounds the most like an old school black politician. I don’t know what to make of him. I saw those pictures of his fraternity dressing in black face and taking racism to the highest level. None of the black people that endorsed him backed out after those things became public. Local bloggers think he’s paying everyone off but I just don’t see the benefit in wasting all that money. As far as the pictures go, they are disturbing but I am not coming down as hard on him because that was 30 years ago. If blogging had been around when I was in my late teens and early 20’s the FBI would have had me on a watch list somewhere. You have to give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s grown especially with so many minorities that work for him in high positions. I am not sure if he can win but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in the runoff.
Troy Henry: He’s a very smart man. He carries himself like a leader. He’s polished enough that I don’t worry about him embarrassing everybody by saying something crazy. I think he would be competent mayor. I agree with his general ideas and he lives in New Orleans East so that would have to be a benefit. My only issue with voting for him is that he’s a business man and I don’t think we need another business man right now. I don’t want to say anything to get myself in trouble at work but if more people had to actually deal with the city in a working capacity they would know that there is a sense of urgency and progression that needs to happen in order to get things done for the people in a timely manner and that’s not happening right now. I don’t blame Mayor Nagin for everything but I blame him for this because he hasn’t done anything to make these folks recognize the need and move any faster. It’s not fair to say that Troy Henry is going to do the same thing but I can’t help it. I’m still working this out.
James Perry: I was ready to vote for James Perry six months ago. He’s young, intelligent and represents a changing of the guard from our parents’ generation to leadership to our time to take the torch and move forward. If you talk to him about the issues you will come away very impressed with him. I think he would be the best person to tackle the crime issue because at 34 he grew up in the city during the time when things really changed and he understands the factors and circumstances that lead to crime better than any of the other candidates. I think he could reach out to those young men and relate to them on a personal level. I even like the fact that he thinks a 40% reduction in the murder rate is achievable because that tells me he believes that some of these young brothers can be saved with the right opportunity. It would be a new day in local politics if he wins. I wish he would have gone door to door and spoke with the people. James ran a 2009-2010 campaign in a city that most of the people are around 1998 in terms of technology. We are logging on the internet more and more but this isn’t the main choice of media in the neighborhood. He should have bought more signs and posters and got his street team moving. I don’t know if enough people know who he is.
Mitch Landrieu: He’s an experienced politician and I think we need that. He doesn’t have a questionable history with dealing with the black community hanging over his head. His sister is the senior senator from the state and I think if he’s the mayor there is no way she or their party allows him to fail. All the money that’s being held up to spite Ray Nagin would magically flow like a river and things would get done. Plus, sometimes when a man is trying to fulfill a family legacy they work hard at it. His opponents attack him more than anyone else because he’s a heavyweight. His presence made two qualified people drop out. He’s probably going to at least make the run off. I just wish that after all his experience he would blow me away when he speaks at least one time. Just once I would have liked to listen to a forum and thought to myself that his experience set him apart from everyone else. The question is did he just put everything on cruise control since he didn’t feel that any of the people running could challenge him or is this all the energy he can muster? I guess shall see if he wins because I don’t believe you can turn the energy it takes to lead off and on that easily. If there is a runoff and it’s only two candidates sharing time instead of six or more, he’s going to have to step his game up or become a three time loser for mayor.
The first time I had a chance to vote for mayor was in 1994. Marc Morial won that election. The key issues that year were crime, blight, jobs, and economic development. Now in 2010 I am going to vote again tomorrow and the key issues are crime, blight, jobs, and economic development. It’s a good thing the Saints are in the Superbowl because that reality would have me very depressed.
Around 6:40 PM Sunday night Don Lemon of CNN's Newsroom introduced me to world wide audience as a guest on his show along with Terrence Blanchard. I only had two goals. The first one was to not freeze up and stare at the screen. The second one was to not cuss and say anything overly Ebonic. I managed to accomplish both of these. I want to thank Karen Gadbois. The best part about the whole experience was the reaction of my family and friends. They were way more excited than I was. If you really want to know how people feel about you do something nice and see how the people close to you react to it. Judging by the reaction I got I have to assume that the people around me must really like me. It's either that or they are faking it thinking I am going to get some big money real soon. I'm just joking. They already know I am cheap. I don't have a clip to post. I have to step my game up in video recordings. Mark another notch for cool stuff blogging has allowed me to do. When someone in Congress tries to regulate this I am going to Capitol Hill and testify. Blogging has been the greatest thing I ever started doing just to kill boredom. Anything that happens after this is lagniappe.
Despite the Saints and the good feeling going through the city there is always reminders of our real situation. It doesn't take much to get some perspective. While I was feeling good this morning I got a call from a good friend and work colleague who were calling to cancel a meeting Thursday. I never knew her son was murdered back in 2003. I guess that's one of those things that don’t come up during casual conversation. Well, one of the guys charged with it is finally going to trial seven years later and she has to go testify. That's got to be rough having to relive that after all this time. As bad as I want to Saints to win, we could go 0-16 and if I never had to hear another story like my friend's then I would never complain. That's the power of the Saints I guess. They give you something to take your attention away from all the drama and baggage around here.
Ricardo left me a comment on my last post that went something like this...”Cliff if you can not tell us who you will be voting for maybe it would be edifying if you told us who you will not have on your list."
My answer is that I have not officially eliminated anyone because everyday I get more and more confused about what I want to do.
Superdeformed said..."I'm more concerned with city counsel, sheriff, and the assessor races."
He's right and I think I have those figured out. Here is the almost official Cliff Voting Card that is subject to change but probably not.
Assessor: Lemle Sheriff: Gusman Council: Hedge Morrell, Marshall, And Fielkow Coroner: Not really worried about this. Judge: Only voting for one of them because I know her personally so I won't pretend like I have a valid reason other than that.
The last thing I have to say about this election year is that it's really strange. I just read this today about a candidate that has gotten all kinds of African American support. He has a lot of black people working for him in the private sector too. My personal opinion is that if it's true he was involved in any of this foolishness I wish all former racist frat boys showed their regrets with jobs and opportunity to grow. We would have a better city.
I am tired of people thinking we are going to be distracted by the football game so we won't vote. After all the stuff we have had to rebuild and move past with negative energy, why would we let a time of positive energy keep us from doing what we need to do. We need a little more credit for our focus. The game is Sunday and voting is Saturday. We will be fine. I think we are going to have a high turnout and everyone is going to let their voices be heard. I have to vote and go to a parent meeting Saturday morning so I am dialed into everything. I'll go to the polls and press some buttons for our next leaders, go to the parent meeting and get my opinion drowned out by the mama's in the room, and then I will clean my grill to get ready for the greatest football day ever. It’s time to bring everything to a close this weekend.
I wouldn't want to be anywhere but New Orleans right now.....except for maybe seats on the 50 yard line in Miami on Sunday.
After I wrote my first Saints Super Bowl post the rest of the week was supposed to be about the New Orleans mayor’s race. I didn't write anything because I am too uninspired about the whole process. I have decided on who I am voting for every other position except for mayor. Before everything got started I had high hopes for the ideas and agendas of the candidates. Maybe I wasn't being realistic. I am not sure what I got instead but at this point no one has sold me totally on voting for them. I look at the number of people voting early and I wonder if I am missing something. What did they hear to decide that this person is the right one for the job? I haven’t heard that yet so at this moment all candidates are still on the table for me.
In general my view on the mayor has changed over the last few months. Watching the State of the Union Wednesday night solidified the way I feel. I watched the president up there practically begging the people in that room to work together and I could see it all on their faces that they really had no intentions on doing that. One person can only change things so much if the rest of the people involved aren’t willing or capable of doing what they need to do. Regardless who wins, if the other people involved in making the city work don’t get together and do the right thing then it doesn’t matter. If everyone is fully committed then we could have an average mayor and things would be okay. I’ll make a decision soon.
P.S.
I would like to tell Ms. Nadine Ramsey that even if she doesn’t win the election she should still get out there and address the issues. I don’t know if she’s ready to be mayor or not but as time goes by she’s more impressive to me. You don’t have to be a politician to be a voice for the people. Please stay engaged.
There's a nurse that works in my office building who is one of the most upbeat people you will ever meet in the morning. Her face is usually full of life. This morning I got on the elevator with her and she looked like she had never been to sleep. As she was yawning and trying to get herself together I couldn't help but making a comment..."You haven't been to sleep either have you?" Turns out she was down in the French Quarters last night and had to get up this morning for work. I started with this story to prove that New Orleans is home to the people who can party real hard and grind out 8 -12 hour work days afterward with no problem. That's how we roll. I have never seen people look so tired and be so happy at the same time.
When I was seven years old I watched my first Saints home game on television. Back then the games never sold out so if you didn't have enough money to go you had to listen to the radio or follow the scores while watching another game if they were at home. We played the Falcons and I was real excited to see the home team actually play at home. The final score was 41-10 Atlanta. I don't know if the Falcons were running up the score but we sure didn't do much to stop them. This is my first solid memory of dozens that didn't end well. I could name them all but it doesn't matter now. If you follow the team you should realize like I do that the game last night played out exactly the way it needed to in order to close all the open wounds of things that went wrong.
It had to be the Vikings because the two of the Saints dream seasons were ended by them. I love Minneapolis as a city. I want to go there again but this morning I hope they feel just like we did after that playoff game in 1987. I hope all their fans tossed and turned thinking about every call and they have to avoid ESPN so they won't have to see Hartley's kick go through again and again and again. It had to be the Vikings.
How many times would something like the Reggie Bush muffed punt live on for years because it turned the game around and we lost? How many times did Jim Mora's teams dominate games in time of possession and statistics only to lose on a few mental mistakes? The botched hand off at the end of the first half had to happen.
How many games did the other team get the ball and drive for a winning score and we sat back praying for our defense to just make one play but it never came and we had to sit there and take the stomach punch? Tracey Porter's intercept had to happen.
How many times did referees call penalties on us that changed games and we couldn't see them even after watching the replay 20 times? A few of those happen last night. The interference call in overtime was legit and we paid dues for the referee to throw that flag.
How many times since Morten Anderson left have we been haunted by horrible field goal attempts? Anyone remember the River City Relay extra point try? Garret Hartley's kick had to happen.
How many times have the Saints signed free agents that couldn't play, made trades for people that never came through, gave up on draft picks too soon or had someone playing that no one ever heard of and they sucked? Jabari Greer, Darren Sharper, Jonathan Vilma, Devery Henderson, and Pierre Thomas all had to contribute to this win.
This may sound corny but I don't know what New Orleans would look like right now if the team would have moved. The Saints are the one thing that everybody connects with. The Colts and Archie's son are next. Win or lose this team doesn't owe me anything else. All I want to see is those shiny gold helmets run out of that tunnel in Miami. It's going to be a beautiful sight.
I tried to write the blog I wanted to write all week but I can't get the words together. I am in a state of disbelief right now. I need this to sink in first.
