August 29, 2005: Category 5 hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf of Mexico coast and destroys most cities on its path, being New Orleans the biggest one: its population will suffer the consequences for years to come, even today.James Perry is an attorney and a fair housing advocate who is running as a candidate for Mayor of New Orleans, with the Democratic Party. I met Mr. Perry at the Netroots Nation 2009 conference and I had a brief conversation about his ideas to rebuild New Orleans, the city where he grew up and where he lives now even after his home was destroyed by hurricane Katrina.
Photos and video Carlos A. Quiroz
Four years after Katrina, most of New Orleans is still destroyed. The city shows what James Perry calls “an unsuccessfully recovery” and there is an urgent need to restore public safety, increase accessible housing, and to rebuild many neighborhoods that haven’t recovered at all. In his website Perry states:
According to recent surveys, more than 76,000 of our properties are vacant and/or blighted. That translates to approximately 35% of the total unique addresses sitting vacant today. This by far is the highest per capita of any city in the nation. With the city at only 75% of our pre-Katrina population…In this video James Perry also mentions that New Orleans needs a reform of its criminal justice system –this actually is a national urgency- and better access for working class people to decent housing, as finally a plan for economic development.
In a note apart, James Perry mentioned also the importance of internet in politics as “extremely important” as he uses it in his current job dealing with public housing, and in his campaign. “The beauty of it is that unlike radio and TV it creates an interactive communication,” he added.
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