By John Pope, The Times-Picayune, February 26, 2010
When the campaign for the District A seat on New Orleans' City Council began, the only candidate with any substantial amount of name recognition was Jay Batt, who held the post from 2002 to 2006.
But that didn't mean he was a shoo-in. Even though Batt, a Republican, has emphasized the importance of his experience, controversial votes he made while on the council, including his support for a new home for Bruno's bar on Maple Street and the expansion of Stuart Hall School for Boys, produced enough lingering anti-Batt sentiment to land him in second place the Feb. 6 primary, with 39 percent of the vote.
In the March 6 runoff, he will face off against the first-place finisher, Susan Guidry, a Democrat, lawyer and neighborhood activist who is making her first run for elective office. She led a four-candidate field with 44 percent, appealing to many voters in the notoriously fickle district by emphasizing the importance of change and working closely with neighborhoods.
Because the District A contest will be one of only two on the ballot -- the other is for the District E council seat -- turnout is expected to be light, a factor some say could work in Batt's favor.
But being in the second spot in a runoff is "never a good place," said Ed Renwick, former director of Loyola University's Institute of Politics. "Often, people get their votes in the first primary, and it doesn't go up."
Edward Chervenak, a political scientist at the University of New Orleans, said Batt is actually facing two opponents: Guidry and Anybody But Batt, an organization that targeted him in his 2006 campaign and helped ensure his loss to Shelley Midura.
Midura, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election. She has endorsed Guidry.
Virginia Blanque, a Republican, who placed third in the primary, has endorsed Batt.
Battling crime, blight
Guidry and Batt said fighting crime is their major priority.
Batt, who has picked up the support of Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, said he wants to achieve this goal by reforming the system through such measures as putting more police officers on the streets, especially in areas with a high volume of tourists such as the French Quarter; supporting sufficient money for the police and district attorney's office; ensuring that they work well together; and backing the inspector general's office, which he tried to create when he was on the council.
Guidry, an attorney, wants to target violent and repeat offenders for arrest and prosecution.
Batt and Guidry also place a high priority on speeding up the process that can lead to demolishing blighted properties or renovating them for commercial or residential use.
When people restore these structures or build new ones, they should use energy-efficient construction, said Guidry, who also supports a push to attract and develop environmentally sensitive businesses.
"We have the demand for it here," she said. "Businesses since the storm have been building to serve that need. ... I believe all of that is going to become a boom."
Past looms large
In addition to his City Hall experience, Batt, a clothing-store-franchise owner, has been emphasizing his volunteer work in the past four years with organizations such as Beacon of Hope, Crimestoppers, the Lakeview Property Owners Association board and the Coastal Conservation Association.
But Batt's experience includes some councilmanic decisions that created enemies, such as the votes on Bruno's and Stuart Hall School. He also ruffled feathers when, over the objection of City Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson, he backed a new hotel in the French Quarter. That project did not come to pass, and Clarkson endorsed Batt this week.
"People are either for him or against him," Chervenak said of Batt. "There's no middle ground."
But Batt doesn't fret about his critics, describing them as "people that are stuck in neutral and have nothing better to do with their lives."
In the Bruno's vote, one of the most controversial during his tenure, Batt said he voted in favor of the project only after the City Planning Commission had "blessed" it. Since then, he said, the bar, a popular hangout for college students, hasn't been a nuisance or a nest of crime.
"What I'm about is fixing the city," Batt said. "What I'm about is taking care of the quality of life of the residents of District A."
Although Guidry's organization surveyed voters before the primary, it hasn't done so since. But, she said, "the primary was a very good poll."
"I think (the) Feb. 6 (outcome) showed that people are looking for a change, and now they believe that I can bring that change, that I can win."
Tallying up war chests
Two fundraisers have been held for Guidry, one at Cochon restaurant in the Warehouse District, the other at the French Quarter apartment of state Democratic Party Chairman Buddy Leach. While she and campaign chairman Matt Larson declined to disclose how much money was given, Larson said, "We're very pleased."
Proceeds from those events were not included in the latest campaign-finance report -- the last to be filed before the election -- which covers contributions and expenses from Jan. 18 through Feb. 14.
By the end of that period, the Batt campaign had received $147,191 and spent $313,468. Contributions to Guidry's campaign totaled $57,835, with expenses of $70,421.
Batt has attacked Guidry as being soft on crime, but not for anything she has done. Guidry, the president of her neighborhood association, said she has organized Neighborhood Watch programs, been the host for her block's gathering during the National Night Out Against Crime and supported the creation of the Mid-City Security District.
Batt said he launched the attacks because Midura, who is supporting Guidry, lowered the budget allocation for the Orleans Parish district attorney's office.
Guidry struck back, saying that while Batt was on the council, the allocation dropped from $3.4 million in 2004 to $2.4 million in 2006. But during Midura's term, Guidry said, the allocation went from $3.1 million in 2007 to almost $5.2 million in the current budget.
Late in the week, an anonymous flier was distributed door to door in District A accusing Guidry of discriminating against African-Americans. To back up this assertion, two cases were cited, but campaign chairman Larson said Guidry had nothing to do with either of them. Moreover, he said, they involved property damages, not discrimination.
A third allegation said Guidry tried to stop a black woman from opening a bar on Orleans Avenue, saying it would attract too many African-American patrons. The quotation attributed to Guidry was made up, Larson said, and because Guidry talked to her by telephone, not in person, she had no idea of her ethnic background.
Spokesman James Hartman denied any involvement by the Batt campaign, saying, "We have no idea where this flier came from."
With a week to go in the campaign, Chervenak said, "My gut feeling is that it will probably get ugly before it's over."
John Pope can be reached at jpope@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3317.
Link to nola.com article
