Thoughts on Viernes…

Addie’s Unopposed
Oh well. Zero opponents for District E Councilmember Addie Wiseman. I had heard rumors of a previous opponent signing up. Within our KAD group, it was a topic of conversation: “Who’re we running against Addie?” In the end, it seems everyone who might be interested in the seat has decided to wait two years to run for the open seat. I spoke to one well-known Democrat who is interested and I know of one other that could also run in 2007. Much like in the other seats that are to open in 2007, we all know people are lining up to run, already.

Latinos Lose Opportunity to Run
I was hoping that this year would have been the year for Latinos who wanted to run for the various at-large seats in the City elections. As always, some Republatinos are signed up in two major at-large races, but there was plenty of room as Shelly Sekula-AddNameHere and Michael Berry were left unopposed. These two incumbents have aspirations for higher office, so it would have been nice to oppose them now so they could use some of their war chests. At the same time, it would have been good for one particular “brown” incumbent to test the waters in an at-large race, just in case that incumbent wants to run city-wide. But, as always, we stay in our “safe” cubby holes. But, contrary to what other outsiders are saying, this incumbent has the most challenging type of opposition–the type that is staying connected and listening to the voters. In fact, I’m hoping the incumbent is up for some debates with John Parras to discuss how the people of District I really feel.

Latinos cannot wait to be asked to run at-large or for big seats. Simply put, we cannot get “Gonzalo’d” by waiting for our shot. We need to take them–go for broke! Within our Latino districts, there are plenty to take over where current leaders have left off. Now, it’s about seizing opportunities and proving we can run, win and serve all populations in the city, county, and state and not just familiar territory. In this day when Democratic activists talk about running everywhere to effect increased voter turnouts, it’s about time Latinos run everywhere, too.

Am I a Hastert fan?
Hell no! But, after reading various Liberal blogs and their thoughts on Hastert’s comments that “New Orleans should not be reconstructed,” I found myself either becoming a bit pragmatic on this issue, or just plain sensible. If a rebuilding is considered, then it better be done right. And if it’s done right, it’s going to be an expense of epic proportions for which there is virtually no insurance policy–with weather patterns as they are, and environmental policy that is non-existent, these types of events are bound to happen again and again. Unless that “bowl” is filled and leveled off, any expense could end up being a waste.