Batt in 'Bidness?

Midura will not run for reelection. Also, note the list of possible contenders at the end. She's gotten burt out on the long hours, low pay, away from her family, while fighting incompetence, intransigence, and corruption. Thank you Mrs. Midura for your service to the city. Special thanks for your letter that kept the pressure on Eddie Jordan and was one of the many things that led to his resignation.

My first thought was this clears the road for Jay Batt to retake his seat on the Council. He's spent a lot of time building up his strength, he's lost a lot of weight and looks a lot healthier. He was elected to the council because everyone decided that, "Hmm. We need a pro-business Republican on the Council." He promised a grocery store for Carrolton. He gets on the council and (SURPRISE!) he takes the side of businesses over residents. Residents got shafted over the new Bruno's and the Tulane/Uptown Square acquisition (among MANY, MANY others). Suddenly, what District A needs is Anybody But Batt. The Riverbend-area residents especially hated his guts.

I will give him this: he did exactly what he said he was going to do on the council. How many politicians can say that? The will of the people was properly reflected in his first and second elections.

Jay Batt may be the front runner now, but he's still got some big hurdles to face. Residents still remember and hate him, even though he has great name recognition. Personally, I think his biggest mistake was opening his big fat mouth on Vitter's prostitution scandals. Video here. The last thing Batt needs is for people to be talking about prostitution during his race. Had he kept his mouth shut, it would have been a personal matter that would have been unfair to bring up in the race. Since he opened his mouth, there are several openings for an opponent. For example, "Mr. Batt, do you still believe Senator Vitter should step down?" If he says no, he loses the good-government/anti-corruption vote. If he says yes, then things get really interesting...

If he loses over the prostitution stuff, he has nobody to blame but himself. It was a huge tactical blunder. His reelection might have gone "out the window" with that slip.

All of that being said, Batt is a fun guy in person and I wish him the best personally. I just don't know if he's the best man for the job.

UPDATE- Don't miss Ashley Morris' bio of Jay Batt. "Jay Batt is Evil."

Also, here's one of Shelley's campaign commercials:

Batt does the boogie-woogie.