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January 12, 2024 8:00am
Few confident in Jeff Landry's leadership
Power Poll wary of new governor, split on River District aid, down on Saints
Although he defeated 14 candidates for Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry inspires little confidence among Jefferson and Orleans Parish community influencers.
Only 37% are completely or fairly confident he will do the right thing for the state, according to the latest New Orleans Power Poll. Even more, about 42%, expressed slight or no confidence in Landry, who took office Monday.
The state/local disconnect is hardly surprising: More than Jefferson and, especially, Orleans, Louisiana overall tends to support Republican candidates such as Landry. Both parishes, for example, backed Democrat John Bel Edwards over Republican opponents in the 2015 and 2019 gubernatorial runoffs.
This month's Power Poll was conducted Tuesday through Thursday.
River District
On a local matter, Power Poll respondents split on public development incentives for the $1 billion River District neighborhood, a new source of friction at the New Orleans City Council.
Almost equal numbers favor and oppose both of the two major incentives now on the table: a $21.6 million property tax break for an office building and a $120 million sales tax increase in the district.
“The general problem with most incentive deals is that they are based on faulty cost-benefit analysis and, as a result, the public entity rarely recoups the public outlay,” said Tulane University economics professor Gary Hoover, executive director of The Murphy Institute. “However, it is politically appealing, thus will continue.”
Saints season
With another mediocre season in the books, New Orleans Saints fans are calling for change – and not just on the roster. Among Power Poll respondents, 42% said the club should fire head coach Dennis Allen.
Allen said Monday he expected to keep his job for a third year despite the team’s poor showing. The Saints finished 7-10 in his first year in charge, and 9-8 last year.
It’s noteworthy that the Saints kept his predecessor, Sean Payton, even after three consecutive losing seasons: 2014, 2015 and 2016.
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About Power Poll: Power Poll asks questions of the most powerful, influential people in U.S. cities. It is not a scientific survey. But because the people responding to the surveys comprise the leadership structure of their cities, the results afford a fascinating glimpse into the thoughts, opinions, and beliefs of those in a position to make change. Power Poll is distinctly nonpartisan.
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