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I wanted a new direction for New Orleans. I wanted to be
a mayor for every New Orleanian: Men, woman, black, white, Latino and Asian; Uptowners and
Downtowners, Eastbankers and Westbankers. This new unity would be the hallmark of my
tenure as mayor. I had a vision for our city. It was a reformed, reorganized police
department, a revitalized recreation department, safer neighborhoods, a rebuilt
infrastructure and citizens who believed again in their government. Today, our vision is
realized. -Senator Marc H. Morial Senator Marc H. Morial I take this opportunity to thank all of you for coming out tonight to share in what is the beginning of a new direction for our great city. We are here tonight because we share common concerns for the condition of the city we all know and love. We are here tonight because our city has been knocked to its knees, and the old ways, yes, the old ways and the old approaches have simply failed. We are here tonight because our city stands at a crossroads. We stand together this evening as a city and a community at a turning point. Almost fifty years ago, our city, just after World War II, was in the same situation. In 1946, it was plagued by lethargy, misdirection, indecision and corruption. In 1946, a new generation of New Orleanians led by a 34-year-old mayor stepped forward to rescue our city from the doldrums. And New Orleans was catapulted into the second half of the 20th century. Almost 50 years later, City Hall is plagued by the same lethargy, indecision, misdirection and hopelessness. The building is dirty and the air conditioning doesn't work. Why does it sometimes take six months to get a business license instead of six days? Why does it take half a day for the police to respond, instead of half an hour? Why does it take an hour instead of a few minutes to get a simple brake tag? Why are our streets filled with more violence, more crime, and more murder? Like you, I am not satisfied with the direction that our city is headed. Over the past 60 days, many of you have challenged me to carefully consider this mayor's race. Strangers have stopped me, others have written me, and still more urged me to offer myself to lead this great city in these very difficult times. Tonight after much thought and prayerful consideration, I want you to know that I am running for mayor to turn this great city around! We need to clean up city hall with a shovel, not a broom! I come before you tonight prepared by education, by life experiences, by values, and yes, by principles, prepared to seek the highest honor and office this city can bestow on one of its fellow citizens. I have a vision for our city. I want to lead this city in a new direction and into a new era... The era of the twenty-first century. The leadership I offer is right for this city and right for these times. I am no new found disciple of change who only speaks the language of change because the polls say that the public is ready to hear that message, or because popular literature suggests that change and new ideas are the calling cards for elected officials in this era. I have spent my entire professional and public career working for change, bringing people together for change, and I have been an agent for change in the courts, in the community, and in the Senate. It is from the heart that I speak of change, because I truly believe that the promise of change and our ability to create an attitude and climate of change is necessary for the survival and future growth of this great city. I have a vision for our city. Our city needs new direction, and our city needs safe streets, paved streets, and streets that lead to jobs. To make our streets safe, the next mayor will have to do more that just conduct a national search for a new police chief. The new mayor will need a national search for new ideas, for a new plan, for new techniques, and be absolutely committed to innovation and reform. We therefore propose, a brick by brick, top to bottom, bottom to top, north to south, and east to west rebuilding of the New Orleans Police Department that has as its goal putting more officers on the street, cleaning up the image of corruption, and locking up those criminals who prey on our young people, our senior citizens, or any citizen who lives in this city. This means civilians ought to have desk jobs and police officers need to be out of headquarters and onto the streets on the front lines fighting crime. As your mayor I will insist on it, work for it, and leave nary a stone unturned until we achieve it and make our streets safe for all of us. We'll recreate the "Urban Squad", and appoint a criminal justice commissioner to co-ordinate our fragmented, divided criminal justice system. I have a vision for our city. I propose a jobs program to rebuild the streets, sidewalks, playgrounds, parks, libraries, and public buildings in this city. We can create thousands of new jobs, and put our people back to work by rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure of our neighborhoods as we prepare for the twenty-first century. I have a vision for our city. In the area of economics we will innovate by creating the New Orleans Economic Development Corporation to house all economic development services administered by the city. This new economic development corporation will free our economic development efforts from the lethargy and bureaucracy of City Hall. We will pursue the development of a medical research park in downtown New Orleans so we can get serious about the business of building New Orleans as a center for bio-medical and bio-environmental development. This new corporation will also pursue the re-establishment and enhancement of the Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization program to promote sensible restoration and development within the neighborhoods of our community. I have a vision for our city. Our administration will be a people's administration, and will return city government and the streets of this city back to the people of this city. Our administration will make City Hall a business friendly facility and a customer friendly facility, in a way that does not mean caving into privilege and power, or getting around permit requirements with a wink and a smile, cause you've hired the right lawyer or you know the right politician. It won't take six months and six licenses to start a new business here in New Orleans. We will create a single permit to do business in New Orleans. We will create the New Orleans Urban Service Corps to maximize people participation in government, like the Peace Corps has done. We want to give people an opportunity to help clean up the streets, revitalize and re-invigorate the New Orleans Recreation Department, and voluntarily participate in every aspect of city government. I have a visions for our city. I pledge myself to restore your respect for public officeholders, your trust in the integrity of government. I'll do it by instituting tough ethics code requirements; for example, every board and commission appointee should fill out an income disclosure form as a condition of service-sign, or resign. I'll set the tone for ethics in city government right from the start - by full disclosure of my own income situation. And I'll bring back into government the highest quality of public servants by appointing only the most competent and committed people to positions of public trust. You deserve no less than that in your city government. My friends we've got to work to do to turn this city in a new direction. We've got to work to do to make our streets safe, to pave our streets and to insure that our streets lead to good jobs. Re-energize, redirect, re-invigorate, and reform our great city. To do this in 1994 requires a new mayor from a new era who can bring new direction and new energy to New Orleans. When our administration is put in the history books, I hope and pray that the citizens of another day will look back upon this as a time that we rescued this city from the morass, that we forged a new direction into an era of progress and prosperity and that they will remember us with approval. Let it be said that where there was despair, we kindled the desire for progress; where apathy prevailed, we brought action, where once hatred threatened to divide us, we provided hope and harmony within a united community of men and women, black, white, Latino, and Asian; Uptowners and Downtowners, Eastbankers and Westbankers, taking their future hand-in-hand and forging a united front on every urban problem that confronts us. New direction, new energy, a new sense of unity... let these be the hallmarks of our campaign and the principles in all that we do thereafter. Join with me, we've got work to do let's make this vision a reality, and save this great city for our children and our future.
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