If I Could, I Would
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with James Carville for some time now, but I’d so love for him to be the mayor of New Orleans.
BY JAMES CARVILLE
“The Mayor shall be a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector of the City, and shall have been domiciled in the City for at least five years immediately preceding the election.”
— New Orleans Home Rule Charter, Section 4-202.
My life in politics spans some 50 years, beginning when I first went door to door for a candidate in my hometown. In my career, I’ve managed campaigns of multiple governors, congressmembers and U.S. senators. And I’ve worked to help elect 14 different heads of state and candidates in 21 countries across five continents.
Any number of times for as long as I can remember, these politicians have asked me, “Don’t you want to run for political office one day?”
I often replied that the only thing I’d run for is the state line. I didn’t really have any interest in running for office. Plus, with two young girls (ages 11 and 14), I’ve long joked that my past is not conducive to the scrutiny of the morally incorruptible. Put it this way, I wouldn’t vet particularly well.
When we moved here some 15 months ago, many speculated that I had political ambitions of some sort in Louisiana. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. At my age, I had never even given it any thought.
Lately, I have been asked that question almost daily by my fellow New Orleanians. At 64 years old, for the first time in my life, I’ve finally found an office I would run for — that is, if I could: mayor.
Even my wife and daughters have asked me to run at this point. The odds of getting three women in the Carville household to agree on anything is slim to none and even less when it has anything to do with me, so this is particularly momentous.
However, due to a protectionist proviso in the New Orleans City Charter that requires candidates for mayor to have been domiciled here for at least five years before the election, we’ll never know how that works out.
The truth is, though, if I could do it, I would do it. And I would not only run, I’d run with enthusiasm and optimism.
Of course, the standard, generic political reasons that most politicians recite also happen to be true. I love my adopted city — the city where Mary and I fell in love and got married — and we enjoy participating in the city’s rebuilding effort. I’d like to secure a future for the city I love so that my kids can have that same opportunity to live here.
On the off chance that I could get elected — and I should note that the Tulane University/Democracy Corps poll showed it is possible for a white candidate to win — the main reason to run is that the next mayor will be in a position to lead the city during its next Golden Era. You’d never be able to tell from the almost-weekly announcements from A-list politicians declining the opportunity to run, but the next mayor will be taking the reins of a city poised for a decade of major investment, international attention and unprecedented funding for capital projects. The foundation for success is so overwhelming that the next mayor almost can’t fail. For a job that few have shown interest in seeking, the next mayor will walk into City Hall with building blocks for growth already in place.
