From the Times-Picayune, April 3rd 2006:
MORE CROSSFIRE IN "A": Batt's e-mail blast also took aim at Democratic opponent Shelley Stephenson Midura, who has recently painted Batt as a tool of Entergy New Orleans.
Calling her the public face of the "Anybody But Batt" political action committee that is working hard to unseat him, Batt accused Midura of launching "a smear campaign."
"Do we really need this desperate housewife/political handpuppet to be our next councilmember?" the Batt e-mail asked.
The reference to the hit ABC television show didn't sit well with the Midura camp. She demanded an apology, calling Batt's comment, "insensitive, insulting, and sexist . . . to her and to all the women in New Orleans fighting for our great city."
The exchange illustrated the increasingly aggressive tone of the campaign in District A. Batt has shown signs of feeling beleaguered by the "Anybody But Batt" group, which has raised a bit less than $20,000 and financed some attack ads against the incumbent. As evidence that the group pulls Midura's strings, Batt pointed to a $2,000 campaign contribution to Midura by Keith Hardie, one of the two principals behind the anti-Batt committee.
Alex Morgan, Midura's campaign manager, said the contribution does not mean the PAC controls her campaign. In a news release, Midura focused on what she considered Batt's cheap shot.
"We are desperate," she said. "I am desperate, as are so many others, for real leadership in District A."
As one of seven council members, Batt works with four female elected council members - Council Vice-President Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, Jackie Clarkson, Renee Gil Pratt and Cynthia Willard-Lewis.
Midura said, "These women work hard to represent the needs of our citizens and certainly could not have achieved their positions without the drive, determination and experience one would expect from any candidate aspiring to the job."
"New Orleans women - including Women of the Storm - have done a remarkable job since Hurricane Katrina fighting not over zoning issues, not over political appointments, not for big business, but for our citizens. These extraordinary women have been fighting on Capitol Hill, in the media and elsewhere to keep the reality of the situation in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast present in the minds of other Americans," Midura added.
Shelley Stephenson Midura is qualified to work with these outstanding women. She worked as a diplomat overseas and in Washington, as a founder of the International School of Louisiana and as a mother. The New Orleans CityBusiness has designated Midura as a member of the "Power Generation" in recognition of her contributions to the community. She has run her campaign on a platform of honesty in government, pushing to remove politics from issues surrounding rebuilding and zoning to ensure that New Orleans does not continue to operate under "business as usual." That type of politics will not allow the rebirth of the city.
"The personal politics and name calling that Jay Batt has introduced into this election have no place in campaign dialogue. Mr. Batt as an elected official representing thousands of housewives should know better," Midura added.
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