Due to popular demand, we have provided Batt's 2004 and 2005 Candidate's Campaign Reports for download at the end of this article.

The expenses section of the reports show LOTS of meals in our local fine restaurants, while the contributor list has some familiar names.

The April 22, 2006 primary election was the first round of a referendum on Jay Batt's four years as Councilman of District A. Batt received only 42% of the vote, which, for an incumbent, is an indication of widespread disapproval of his performance in office.

During his first term, Jay Batt consistently showed a total disregard for the zoning regulations and land-use plans of this city. He consistently showed a callous indifference to the concerns of his constituency outside of his home base in Lakeview. He consistently represented the interests of businesses and developers, many of whom are his friends and not his constituents, over the interests of the residents that he was elected to serve.

In the May 20 runoff, we have an opportunity to choose a better Councilperson, one who will actually do the job for which she's elected, which is, first and foremost, to represent the interests of the residents of District A.

Our yard signs are in! We have 18" x 18" signs with stakes for yards and 3' x 3' signs for large fences or porches on major streets.

We're trying to replace as quickly as possible all our signs that are being stolen or torn down from supporters' fences and even from front yards at quite a rate, so just let us know if you need replacements.

Please email us at anybodybutbatt@yahoo.com with sign location requests, and include the name of the resident, phone numbers, and the size of sign desired (yard or large) in your email.

Donations are needed to keep our ads running. Please help by sending a check, payable to ANYBODY BUT BATT PAC to 757 St. Charles Ave., Suite 304, NOLA 70130. Campaign Finance law requires that you include your name and address with your check.

Apparently our attempt to shed some light on the tenure of Jay Batt in District A has annoyed our jovial councilman somewhat.

He has aired a commercial on WWL, aiming to counter what he claims is a smear campaign against him.

We have some thoughts and observations on this.

We produced a radio spot that features the voices of ordinary citizens. It was not made, nor paid for, by any candidate or any committee supporting any candidate. We are just extremely concerned citizens who love New Orleans.

We hope this spot reminds you why we cannot have four more years of City Councilman Jay Batt in District A. Considering that our city is undergoing major planning for an uncertain future, you know that this statement is more true now than ever. Councilman Batt has not just been bad for his own district, he has affected us all. No matter where you live in New Orleans, you should be concerned about this race.

Click the link below to listen to our radio spot, or tune in to WWL Radio.

AnybodyButBatt 1st Radio Spot

Some of the illustrious members of Batt's contributor groups, the Batt Brigade and the Batt Buddies:

David Melius: Proprietor of Bruno's controversial new mega-bar on Maple Street, is listed as a member of the "Batt Brigade." Batt, Bryan Wagner, and Barth Melius (David's son), were all delegates at the 2004 Republican Convention, where Batt was seen handing out Bruno’s tee-shirts.

David Ducote: Developer of French Quarter Hotel whose creation required Batt to push for the lifting of the moratorium on new hotels in the historic French Quarter. In order to help his friend, Batt also broke with council tradition by ramrodding a controversial project in another councilperson's district.

Jay Batt promised to bring a full-service grocery store to Carrollton Avenue between St. Charles and the interstate or else not run for re-election. We're still waiting, and he's still running. The discount, limited-selection grocery that opened in the Carrollton Shopping Center at Palmetto was planned before he took office, during Scott Shea's term. The infamous eyesore that is the old Canal-Villere site at Claiborne and Carrollton, where Batt stood as he made his promise, remains just that today... an eyesore.

Perhaps Batt's "promise" to get a supermarket was not deliberately broken, just an example of hubris and beyond his clearly limited powers. But his "promise" to not run again if he failed is one that he could deliver on if he chose to.

Despite sponsoring legislation to prohibit or severely limit the establishment and operations of new bars in residential districts city-wide, and despite unified opposition by a coalition of neighborhood associations that all happen to include his constituents, Councilman Jay Batt has bent over backwards to ensure that his friend and supporter David Melius can open a new super-sized Bruno's bar on Maple Street. Mr. Batt even told one uptown resident that he would see that "his friend got his bar" in spite of neighborhood objections.

No matter how one feels about bars or other businesses in residential neighborhoods, the fact remains that THIS bar would never have been allowed were it not for the owner's relationship with Jay Batt.

Bruno's Bar Chronology...
This sad chronicle details how Jay Batt defied an entire neighborhood to help his friend David Melius build his large bar on Maple Street, and worked tirelessly to reduce the parking requirement, after saying he opposed the bar because it lacked sufficient parking...

In 2004, Jay Batt spearheaded the creation of a new zoning district in the French Quarter, paving the way for the lifting of a 35-year ban on new hotel construction in the historic district. When Batt Buddies Wayne and David Ducote, the developers for 111 Iberville, applied for a “conditional use” in order to develop their property as a hotel under the newly created VCS-1 zoning district, a significantly larger hotel was proposed than what was originally publicized.

During the intense debate on the project in December 2004, the public was told this would be a 60-room boutique hotel, within the existing structure at 111 Iberville. When the developers finally revealed their plans, the project had increased in size by 68%, morphing from 60 rooms to 101, and adding almost 26,000 square feet.

The change in zoning that allowed for the conditional use process was authored by Jay Batt, a council member who does not even represent the French Quarter. It was passed over the objection of an unprecedented coalition of tourism leaders, neighborhood organizations and citizens from across the city, including that District's own councilperson.

Read more about the controversy on the Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents and Associates site.

City Councilman Jay Batt folded in the face of the “prominent citizens” who have their children at Stuart Hall School for Boys on Carrollton Avenue by allowing the school to demolish 5 houses in the Carrollton neighborhood surrounding the school, over the objections of more than a thousand neighbors. While Batt tried to excuse his actions by claiming that he "cared more about education than buildings", the fact remains that the planned $6.3 million expansion of a commercial operation into a residential neighborhood was and remains inappropriate, and Stuart Hall's millions would have been better spent elsewhere... such as a few short blocks away where an empty public school building sat on its own city block, languishing for attention.


Stuart Hall - new building on Spruce St.

All images from SaveTheseHouses.org