INDReporter

Bye bye Nagin, Landrieu sworn in

by Leslie Turk

Amid great expectations, Mitch Landrieu was sworn in today as New Orleans' 70th mayor.

Ray Nagin's disastrous tenure has come to an end. Amid great expectations for a faster recovery of Louisiana's cultural jewel, former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu was sworn in today as New Orleans' 70th mayor.

Landrieu is the first white mayor of the predominately black city since his father served from 1970 to 1978. At a 10 a.m. ceremony today, Moon Landrieu administered his son's oath of office, along with former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal Calogero and state Appeal Court Judge Edwin Lombard at Gallier Hall. Seven city council members, Sheriff Marlin Gusman, Civil Court Clerk Dale Atkins, Criminal Court Clerk Arthur Morrell and Coroner Frank Minyard were also sworn in.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported early this morning: Appealing to voters weary of rampant crime, a lagging recovery and a strapped city budget, Mitch Landrieu spent his campaign for mayor of New Orleans hammering home this simple message: "I know what to do, and I know how to do it."
Starting today, he gets the chance to prove it.
Landrieu, 49, takes office still riding the wave of goodwill spawned by his landslide victory in the Feb. 6 primary, along with a prevalent sense of relief at the departure of the unpopular administration of Mayor Ray Nagin. ...
Given his self-assurance about the task at hand and his electoral mandate, expectations for what comes after the pomp and circumstance hardly could be higher for Landrieu, a lawyer and former state legislator whose six-year tenure as Louisiana's lieutenant governor ends today.

Read more of the T-P's Friday interview with Mitch Landrieu here.