It’s good to be the king
29th March 2016 · 0 Comments
The mayor is at it again, y’all. And this time he’s not playing.
Nola.com reported in a story dated March 23 that the emperor of this little plutocracy has convinced a legislator to file a bill during the regular session in Baton Rouge that would shield him from being held in contempt by judges for failure to pay a judgment if a legislative body hadn’t appropriated the funds.
Senate Bill 130 is sponsored by state Sen. Conrad Appel, the same legislator who tried to convince the Louisiana Legislature that it was a good idea to merge SUNO with the University of New Orleans several years ago.
Appel, who represents a Metairie-based district, said the Landrieu administration asked him to author the bill. Isn’t it interesting that the Landrieu administration couldn’t find a legislator in New Orleans to author the bill?
While Appel and the Landrieu administration both deny it, it is apparent that the bill is a direct result of Civil District Court Judge Kern Reese’s decision to hold the mayor and members of the New Orleans City Council in contempt for failing to pay the settlement owed to the city’s firefighters during last year’s nasty public squabble. It was clear then — as it is now — that this mayor and his inner circle don’t like anyone telling them what to do.
You may recall that the mayor said last year that he would do the right thing in the case, even if that meant going to jail or being placed on house arrest. But as soon as he was held in contempt, he began hurling legal challenges at Judge Reese. All of a sudden, he wasn’t prepared to stand up for his principles.
So much for having the courage of his convictions or being willing to suffer the consequences for doing what is just and right.
A modern-day Joan of Arc this mayor clearly is not, although he certainly did not shy away from presenting himself as such last year.
Apparently, laws, rules and penalties are for people who can’t handle omnipotence and the freedom to do whatever they damn well please.
That’s certainly not our mayor.
This is the mayor who eliminated jobs for residents who worked for decades at City Hall only to turn around and propose a $10 minimum wage for the employees that are lucky enough to still have their jobs. This is the mayor who promised to allow the people of New Orleans to have a say in selecting the city’s police chief and broke that promise twice. He is also the city leader who initially endorsed the idea of a federal NOPD consent decree only to turn around later and say the city didn’t need one because it couldn’t afford NOPD and Orleans Parish Prison consent decrees and because the NOPD had already begun the process of reforming itself.
Clearly, the emperor was not someone who learned how to play nice with others as a young prince.
If he had, he might not have been so quick to try to eliminate a judge seat in New Orleans while Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro was trying to send Judge Yolanda King to jail. He might have thought twice about trying to tell heirs of the Wisner family how to spend the Wisner Fund. And he might have thought twice about trying to tell the Orleans Parish Clerk of Court and Orleans Parish Sheriff how to do their jobs while insisting that no one even thinks about trying to wrestle any decision-making power from his hands.
It should be noted that this mayor, like most mayors and other local elected officials, ran a campaign that was heavily financed by the city’s white business titans and that those titans don’t dole out the big bucks without expecting something in return.
That’s important to remember as we witness the balkanization and bastardization of the Crescent City to make way for what the current regime calls the “new” New Orleans.
If there was any lingering doubt about the mayor’s desire to change the city’s charter to make it possible for him to get a third term in office, this should put it to rest. Not only does the mayor want a third term at the helm of City Hall – he wants to run the city as he pleases with no safeguards in place to keep him from running off the rails and unlimited power to control and run roughshod over anyone who disagrees with him or criticizes one of his policy decisions.
Think about that the next time you hear someone vent about the skyrocketing cost of living in the Big Easy with everything from property taxes, rental rates, water service fees, and utility bills going through the roof.
Why do you suppose the mayor wants this bill passed? To make it easier for him and his small band of machiavellian tricksters to make life hell for the Black masses and the poor in New Orleans without any fear of reprisals from the legal system. To make certain that the shackles placed on communities of color and the poor in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina remain in place for the foreseeable future. And to make sure that the city’s wealthiest and most powerful families can continue to call all the shots in the Crescent City and not have to worry about pesky little things like democracy, justice or equal protection under the law.
Why should the mayor be bothered or burdened with the kinds of local, state and federal laws intended to provide a system of checks and balances to guard against tyranny, unjust rule and absolute power?
Ahhhh, it’s good to be the king.
This article originally published in the March 28, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
