After endless months of tedium, the New Orleans mayor’s race took off like a bat out of Beelzebub last week. Attorney James Perry, who had campaigned in the shadows of better-known candidates for months, slam-dunked his more experienced opponents at a candidate forum last Wednesday morning. Later that same day, Perry unleashed a foul-mouthed TV ad that probably got him a lot more attention than votes.

Last Wednesday must have been a wild ride for Perry. In the morning, his candidacy took off like a Phoenix, but by nightfall it appeared to be crashing prematurely. The forum was sponsored by the nonprofit Afterschool Partnership. All seven announced and presumed candidates attended, and four of them muffed the very first question, which dealt with the city-run juvenile prison known as the Youth Study Center. Apparently four of the candidates thought the facility was an after-school study hall, and their responses were embarrassingly off the mark.

The four candidates who blew the question were businessman Troy Henry, businessman John Georges, state Sen. Ed Murray — whose district includes the facility — and former school board member Leslie Jacobs. Each gave a vague response applauding the idea of “studies centers,” with some even suggesting that they be incorporated into existing schools.

Read full story at Best of New Orleans Blog.

“If you are coming to steal, there will be no deal!” promises mayoral candidate and former state judge Nadine Ramsey in her campaign literature, promising a “no tolerance attitude for corruption” if she is elected mayor of New Orleans. So how does Ramsey respond to questions about a $5,000 campaign contribution from longtime supporter Burnell K. Moliere, a St. Charles Parish businessman and federal felon who admittedly helped to corrupt the Orleans Parish Public School Board contracting process?

“The money will be returned,” Ramsey told Gambit today. “A mistake was made. That’s all I have to say. Thank you.”

Moliere’s donation was the largest of seven contributions totaling $11,600, according to Ramsey’s first campaign finance disclosure report as a mayoral candidate.

Read full story at Best of New Orleans Blog.

The New Orleans city elections are three months away. The city is at a crossroads and needs to move into the next phase of recovery with a steady, engaged and qualified leadership. No one in business would hire a key new employee without a job description against which to judge an applicant’s qualifications, and neither should voters.

Read EngageNOLA’s job description for mayor of New Orleans.

While I’m still searching for the article itself an AZ reader pointed out a recent Bayou Buzz article on a John Georges soiree in which they assessed the gravity of the candidate by the quality of alcohol and food at the event:

The former Gubernatorial candidate made the biggest Mayoral splash this past week with a high dollar reception at Royal Street’s Montelone Hotel.

The fact that Georges won Orleans Parish in his 2007 bid for Governor–as an Independent no less–was not lost on the biracial crowd as they munched on hors d’oeuvres and heard the Imperial Trading Inc. CEO speak.

While many outsiders judge these events on simple dollars collected, most political insiders, sentenced to endless fundraisers have come up with their own way to judge the quality of political events–the food and booze. By that calculation, as by all others, Georges’ event on Wednesday, October 21, 2009, was a success.

Read full post at American Zombie.

Looks like he’s ready for his close-up.

Though an announcement is now set for Wednesday, Georges has already effectively launched his campaign, hiring a communications director and spokeswoman and distributing “Georges for Mayor” literature and bumper stickers.

“I have discussed this decision with my wife, Dathel, after a successful fundraiser last week,” Georges said in a statement released Friday morning. “I have made my decision and will make it known Wednesday.”

The event will take place at Li’l Dizzy’s café on Esplanade Avenue at 3:30 p.m.

Li’l Dizzy’s, of course, is the cafe’ of choice among the city’s political class so that makes it a fitting location. The fried chicken is pretty good there. Although we hear that when Georges really wants to impress, he pulls out the top-shelf stuff.

Read story at Library Chronicles.

Ray Nagin, a nationally known but locally detested figure since Katrina, cannot run again in the mayoral race of 2010. But as of now, no inspiring candidates have stepped forward to throw their hat into the race, according to this Times article.

Post-Katrina New Orleans—with so much rebuilding and reshaping left to do, and government money flowing in to pay for it—represents an amazing opportunity for innovative urban projects on almost every level. Can it be that the only people willing to take up the challenge are a few state senators and city council members, none of whom have professed any particular vision for doing something extraordinary in the continuing rebuilding of their city?

Read story at Good.Is.

School Board killer and yurp magnet Leslie Jacobs is almost guaranteed to announce her candidacy for Mayor, from what I’ve been hearing. She can self-finance, perhaps almost to the level that local monopoly man parody John Georges can.

Jacobs’ likely entry into the race means that rumors of a possible reentry by Mitch Landrieu are untrue. Jacobs would not be doing focus groups and polls and taking possible campaign organizers out to lunch if she hadn’t been personally assured by the Lieutenant Governor that he was not going to be running. Jacobs and Landrieu are deferentially close.

I generally agree with AZ’s analysis that Jacobs might be wiser to take on Jay Batt in District A and also with the general point about how important catering ability is for a potential Mayor.

I have not heard any inkling, however, that Jacobs is considering anything less than a full-out run for Mayor. She was also recently seen at a GOP heavyweights for Jay Batt fundraiser.

Aaaand, I’ve just thrown up in my mouth a little bit.

Read full story at We Could Be Famous.

Stephanie Grace wrote an excellent column about State Senator Ed Murray’s bid to become NOLA’s next Mayor. The thrust of Murray’s campaign is that he’s the un-Nagin, it’s not only true it could work. After all, the un-cola ads did, after all, help Seven Up gain traction back in the day.

Read full story at Adrastos Blog.

Well, he’s not exactly gone for good, or even for very long, but State Rep. Austin Badon dropped out of the Mayor’s race yesterday. Badon’s campaign never caught on after a flurry of initial interest because legendary NOLA political handler Jim Carvin’s team took him on as candidate. Mr. Carvin died in January, 2009 and now Badon’s Mayoralty hopes have too. Badon, however, has changed races and is now running to replace Cynthia Windy-Lewis as the District E council tool council member.

Read full story at Adrastos Blog.

The three candidates with the best name recognition and experience in government—Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, New Orleans City Council At Large member Arnie Fielkow and House Speaker Pro Tem, Karen Carter Peterson will not be on the Mayor’s ballot.  So, with no big names which inspire big ideas, magnetism or even controversy, don’t expect the New Orleans election to grab the imagination of the public, even under the most normal of circumstances.

Then, there is the schedule.  Qualifying is December.9-11 taking place in the beginning of the December holiday season.  The primary occurs February 6.  The General election is one month later.

Read full story at Bayou Buzz.