Mayor says the city is gritty and determined
In a speech Thursday that combined boosterism for his city and political commentary, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said New Orleans has become the nation's "laboratory for innovation and change" and proposed a new way to pay for critical coastal restoration work.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu is greeted as he arrives to talk about New Orleans' recovery and future Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.Speaking at a National Press Club luncheon, Landrieu proposed generating money for coastal restoration through fast-tracking oil revenue-sharing for the states, now set to begin in 2017, and modest increases in offshore oil royalties.
Five years after Hurricane Katrina, and four months after oil began spewing out of BP's Macondo well, Landrieu described his city as gritty and determined, struggling with plenty of problems including crime, a police scandal and a big budget deficit.
"We've had hell and high water, pain and salvation," Landrieu said. "We've survived Katrina, Rita, Ike, Gustav, the great recession and the BP oil catastrophe. The message is clear: Through it all, we are still standing unbowed, unbroken and ready to embrace whatever challenges come our way."
While few politicians have defended BP, Landrieu was particularly hard-hitting in his criticism, saying the British firm was "incredibly irresponsible and negligent."
"And while the oil gushed into the Gulf for 85 days, BP constantly dragged its feet to clean up and compensate, missed meetings, and seemed to react to the crisis with disdain," Landrieu said.
"They just wanted their life back as if it were our fault. And, once BP is finishing pillaging our coast for all that it is worth, while shirking their responsibility, they are poised to, in my opinion, cut and run."
He said BP could help prove him wrong by moving its headquarters to New Orleans.
Landrieu said he would use President Barack Obama's visit to the city Aug. 29, the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, to "politely" ask him to end the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.
'We've had hell and high water, pain and salvation,' Landrieu said. 'Through it all, we are still standing unbowed, unbroken and ready to embrace whatever challenges come our way.'Like other Louisiana leaders, he calls the moratorium a job killer.
But the mayor had praise for the president's commitment to New Orleans and its recovery.
"From my first day in office, he and his administration have been key partners," Landrieu said. "Eleven out of 15 Cabinet secretaries have traveled to New Orleans in the last three months -- most more than once. "
Asked about the oil spill's effect on tourism, Landrieu pegged the lost business preliminarily in the range of 12 percent to 16 percent.
He humorously promoted visits to New Orleans, three times interrupting his remarks to say: "Did I say New Orleans is a wonderful place to visit?"
Asked whether Gov. Bobby Jindal's opposition to Obama's spending initiatives, including his $787 billion economic stimulus program, hurt his efforts to win federal assistance, Landrieu swallowed a sip of water and said, "Are you kidding me?"
The Democratic mayor, who is dependant on Jindal's support for state assistance, went on to say he has always worked well with the Republican governor, even when they disagreed. But he added that Jindal's opposition to federal spending "complicates" his efforts.
The audience included his sister, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
The mayor was accompanied by Emily Arata, deputy mayor of external affairs, and Ryan Berni, his press secretary. The trip cost about $1,900, city officials said.
During his speech, Landrieu made a strong push to support coastal restoration efforts, saying the state has lost 1,900 square miles of wetlands, the result of levee and dam construction in the Midwest and Plains states, fertilizer runoff from Iowa and Illinois, oil and gas development and "decades of backroom political deals"
But he said that while the rest of the country might not understand, he and other Louisiana political leaders still support offshore oil drilling, not only for the jobs, but because American still needs gas. "We are not limited to drill baby, drill, or stop drilling forever," Landrieu said.
Landrieu urged the audience to visit the city and see for themselves how it is constantly remaking itself, with new innovative charter schools; mixed-income developments that combine housing, shopping and green space; great restaurants and entertainment venues; and the arrival of thousands of "passionate young people" committed to making the city better.
"New Orleans is the coolest place in America,' he said.
National Press Club President Alan Bjerga, an admitted Minnesota Vikings fan, used the last question to ask the mayor how the Saints would prepare for the pasting he predicted would be inflicted on the team Sept. 9, especially now that the Vikings have quarterback Brett Favre back in the fold.
The mayor said he wasn't even sure Favre and the Vikings would "show up," but if they do, he predicted, "24-3" in favor of the hometown team.
Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.383.7861.