New Orleans Resolutions

I ran across this article from the Times-Picayune (which I am sure few of you read) while trying to write a final paper for my final class at HGSE. I thought it was appropriate in light of my last blog and I don't have the time to write something fresh...

Resolve to do the right thing

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Today is traditionally a time for making a fresh start, a day to pledge to make yourself slimmer, smarter -- better -- in the new year.

Resolutions are usually a private matter, and each of us has to decide how our lives need to change. There are people who put themselves in the public eye, however, and their habits are very much our business. That is especially true as this area rebuilds after Katrina.

There is no room in 2006 for me-first, do-nothing public officials. There is no room for equivocating or fabricating or skimming something off the top. There is no room for indecision or hand-wringing. And the so-called Louisiana Way of politics needs to be retired for good.

With those things in mind, here is The Times-Picayune's annual list of resolutions for elected, appointed and self-decreed policymakers in our midst.

I, Gov. Kathleen Blanco, resolve to be decisive. I will not appoint a study committee to study the 2004 study committee's report on study committees.

I, Senate President Donald Hines, promise to remember that the New Orleans metro area is essential to the economic well-being of Louisiana and give it the attention and resources it desperately needs. I, House Speaker Joe Salter, resolve to do the same.

We, the rest of the New Orleans City Council, pledge to be more like Councilman-at-large Oliver Thomas. He showed courage in rescuing stranded New Orleanians from floodwaters. He embraced the need for change after the storm: arguing for a regional, professional levee board. And, unlike some council members, he is willing to compromise.

I, Mayor Ray Nagin, resolve to stick to one message. I won't say one thing in Atlanta or Houston or Washington and another thing in New Orleans.

I, Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, resolve to admit my mistakes promptly and cheerfully.

We, the city officials of Kenner, promise to go at least one day a week without embarrassing our constituents.

I, San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger, resolve to keep my grubby hands off the New Orleans Saints.

I, Kimberly Williamson Butler, resolve not to make as big a mess of citywide elections this year as I did after Hurricane Ivan.

We, the many levee boards of greater New Orleans, resolve to go away.

We, the Orleans Parish School Board, resolve to go away.

I, former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown, resolve to go away.

We, the Not In My Back Yard bunch, resolve to sympathize with the thousands of people in greater New Orleans who no longer have a back yard.

We, the residents of this great community, whether living here or in exile, resolve to mask for Mardi Gras, line up for crawfish bread at Jazzfest and cheer for the Saints and the Hornets. We promise to prepare ourselves better than ever for hurricane season and to help our neighbors do the same.

Above all, we resolve to be grateful for what Katrina spared, respectful of what was lost and dedicated to making this place we love even better than it was.