Leslie Turk

Landrieu: the Brett Favre of politics?

by Leslie Turk

He’s in. He’s out. He’s in. He’s out. He’s in and he loses a close runoff to Mayor Ray Nagin (unbelievable, I know).

But this time it’s certain: Mitch Landrieu announced in July of this year that he would not be a candidate for mayor of New Orleans on Feb. 6, 2010.

But wait, The Times-Picayune reported over the weekend, he might be changing his mind.

And who can blame him? The T-P story stresses the lackluster nature of the mayoral campaign so far, despite that qualifying is right around the corner, Dec. 9-11. Another factor, the T-P has his supporters saying, is that even as a non-candidate, Landrieu continues to poll well in surveys.

University of New Orleans political scientist Ed Chervenak said the renewed interest in Landrieu is no surprise. “Given the lack of excitement about the current field, it makes sense that some of the candidates who announced early that they weren’t running for mayor might take a second look at their options and that their supporters would be pushing them to do so, “ he said. “We’re flattered that so many people are encouraging the lieutenant governor to reconsider, but at this point in time, he hasn’t changed his mind, “ said Emily Sneed Arata, Landrieu’s deputy chief of staff.

That’s not exactly reopening the door, but how many times did Favre dismiss speculation he would return? (We lost track.)

Find out who’s running for mayor of the Crescent City, home to the undefeated Saints, who might and more from the T-P here.