Being a New Orleans native, do you have confidence in Mayor Ray Nagin?
Working as a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, I have confidence in city officials, including the mayor, to help come up with a plan and process, as well as an overall plan to help rebuild the city of New Orleans. I don’t believe that the destruction and the widespread damage, as well as the enormous task that we all face in rebuilding our homes and communities, can be left to one public official. This is a situation where all hands are on deck. Q: Is the rebuilding process going at a reasonable rate? A: You know, I think most Americans forget that the city of New Orleans was underwater for over 57 days. It was not hit by just one catastrophic hurricane — the worst natural disaster in American history — it was hit again by Hurricane Rita, which came ashore on Sept. 24 [2005]. As a result of it, 80 percent of the city was damaged or destroyed. We lost over 100,000 homes, 18,000 businesses, so it’s going to take more than one year for the city to show more signs of recovery.
