Alan Gutierrez

(An untimely post, sitting in my drafts.) Shortly after the election day whollop, Rebecca Houtman whisked me away for a retreat from politics. We snuck off to watch a candy coated movie in Harahan, then to sleep. In the morning we went in search of breakfast foods. Bacon! Then to CompUSA to paruse the new MacBook. It should do nicely. Won’t be doing much photo blogging until the Powerbook is replaced. I have photographs of a great many things. The retreat became a liquid at Bachaanal on Sunday evening. Gourmet food served in styrofoam clam shells. We had enough wine that we were dancing and not thinking much of it. We crawled down Frenchmen and Decatur. Margaritas. A bender. Spent today sorting through the email that accumulated. Getting back into the swing of things. Web publishing workshop, remember? Nathan Shroyer keeps emailing me about it.

Ouch.

Some of you have asked me, why Nick Varrecchio?

The Times-Picayune ran an article today, by Susan Finch, where she describes a contest for an important office, that has long been mis-managed, and wonders why such why race for the Clerk for Criminal District Court has not received the coverage it deserves.

This is an office that has been run into the ground by Kimberly Williamson Butler. We dearly need to restore and reform the office of Clerk of Criminal District Court. The criminal courts are stuggling with a backlog of criminal cases, and elections are only being held because Nick Varrecchio has done the job of Kimberly Williamson Butler, by training poll commissioners so that that she had no more excuses to delay the elections.

Nick Varrecchio has an impeccable record of ethics and comptence in his 17 years of practice.

The best Nick Varrecchio’s opponent can do, is question Nick Varrecchio’s experience, but the experience that Arthor Morell brings to the Clerk of Criminal District Court is the kind of experience we want to put behind us.

Clerk of Court’s Race Takes a Backseat by Susan Finch

Earlier this year, the state ethics board ordered Morrell to pay a $1,000 fine after finding him guilty of improperly using his elected office in an attempt to benefit his private legal clients. Morrell said that as soon as the written decision is issued, he’ll ask the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal to reverse it: “What they said I did, they never produced any evidence to prove that I did it,” he said.

Arthur Morell recently repealed what was “one of his worst ideas”, according to New Orleans City Business.

Boneheaded Morrell bill hopefully buried - New Orleans City Business Editorial

Morrell’s bill to repeal a major ethics reform was scheduled for a hearing Wednesday before it was pulled. It is unlikely to reappear. Good riddance.

But it bears asking why Morrell, or any other legislator for that matter, would roll back this reform. Louisiana law now prohibits campaign contributions to all legislators, including the governor, during regular legislative sessions.

Nick Varrecchio has a reform agenda for the Clerk of Criminal District Court. Nick Varrecchio will get to work to restore the integrity of evidence and restore the day to day operation of the Criminal Courts in Orleans Parish.

Nick Varrecchio has pressured Kimberly Williamson Butler into holding elections after Katrina.

When Kimberly said that there were not enough poll commissioners to conduct the elections, Nick Varrecchio launched a campaign to train poll commissioners, removing another excuse for the current Clerk’s incompentence.

Nick Varrecchio has been in New Orleans, working to return Orleans Parish to normalcy, while Arthur Morell campaigns from Batton Rouge. Arthor Morell’s message is confused.

Arthur for Clerk

Arthur understands that the Clerks office is underfunded.

True. Arthor Morell says that he has the connections in Batton Rouge to obtain new funding for the Clerks office, but if that’s the case, why hasn’t he obtained the funding already?

Arthur for Clerk

As a state legislator I have been a sitting member of the committee which most greatly affect the funding of the clerks office.

Doesn’t it follow that Arthur Morell has seen to it that the Clerk’s office is underfunded?

Please vote for Nick Varrecchio for Clerk of Criminal District Court. Nick Varrecchio will get right down to work and clean up the office of Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal District Court.

This is why Nick Varrecchio has received the endorsement of every major newspaper in New Orleans, as well as the endorsements of both politcal parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, and numerous civic and church organizations, and State Senators and Representatives.

Everyone who talks to the candidates comes away saying that Nick Varrecchio is their choice for Clerk of Criminal District Court.

Jimmy Delery spent the morning on the phone. He’s my ride. I waited. I grew impatient. I set out to vote.

On a hot summer day, I walked accross the Treme to Mid-City where I am registered. In my time in Ann Arbor, I did not surrender my Louisiana driver’s license. Not even when it expired.

I did not want make my return to Michigan offical. I’m going to live in New Orleans or die trying.

There will always be a cold, dark place in heart that rusts for Detroit, however.

I’d not had coffee in two days. I was quiting. I’m somewhat dazed. No cravings, except for sleep. A mild headache. Treme looks rough from Katrina.

I voted for Nick Varrecchio among others.

Lolly-gaged in Mid-City at Liuzza’s by the Track, lunching with a Floridian I once knew, until I broke down and taxied back to the Quarter. Got to my place. Flopped. As I drift off into a cafine-free afternoon coma, my the phone rings. Jimmy is on the loose. I’m ready I say, but we need to stop for coffee.

We cruise Uptown to Napoleon. The Varrecchio supporters are at the corner of St Charles. Varrecchio himself is not there. I grab a sign. Face traffic. Smile. Wave.

Met Desiree. Met Mark and Woody, again. Time passes. Kimberly Williamson Butler arrives.

She’s in a caravan that rolls down from the River Bend. Desiree and I break off to get Kimberly T-Shirts. We decide to put them on. Not that we are clad in Kimberly 53 tees, we decide that it would be rude to remove them until her caravan is out of view.

The caravan parks.

Having set the precident, everyone wants to wear a Kimberly tee. Cameras are out. Jimmy, Desiree, and myself pose with citizen Butler. Kimberly collects her entourage to leave.

I overhear Desiree as she says to Kimberly In parting, you’re just misunderstood. Kimberly says, I know, but I’m strong.

Off with Kimberly. Off with the tees.

We break for Lunch at Frankie and Johny’s. Mark, Woody, Desiree, Nick and I. We talk about the debates. We talk about the run off.

Half a fried shrimp po’ boy later, we’re back on the corner. Waving. The Varrecchio contingent is the last on standing. We waved until the polls closed.

We got back to the campaign headquarters in a round about way. Results looked good until the very end, when the absentee ballots were in. Then Nick drops to second.

That was to be expected. Not much consideration is put into a 11 candidate primary for a lesser office when the voter knows there will be a run off. There was a lot of muddle in the press with all the different voices.

The real campaign is the run off. A real choice between two very different candidates.

Kimberly Williamson Butler spoke at the most recent French Quarter town hall. She laid out her platform for change. She put forward her vision for Mayor.

She fielded questions about Disneyland.

Because John Gregory was there, and he just had to ask.

She presents herself well. She is incredibly photogenic. I adore this snapshot.

Should you find yourself wound up over the latest petty outrage in the rotation, it has been my experience that Frenchman Street is the place to go for reconciliations.

Couldn’t bring myself to blog today. Now the day is gone. I’m off to the River Bend to meet with Nick Varrecchio and the Louisiana Regular Democrats. Looking at an exciting run off. I’ll post a follow up to the Click for Nick campaign that so many of you supported. The long and the sort of it was that the results were dismissed after the poll for City Council District B made it obvious that the system was so easily manipulated.

Tomorrow (today) at the corner of St Phillip and Decatur at 4:30 pm. By 5:30 the parade will arrive at Mulate’s at 201 Julia St where Erma Thomas will be performing. So says Jimmy Delery. I’ll be there.

A Times-Picayune article over the weekend, informed those New Orleanians still offline, that jailbird Clerk of Court Kimberly Williamson Butler was running for Mayor of Disneyland.

I write about this in the post Kimberly Williamson Butler. Wonkette picked up the story, but gives little context.

In response to the flap, Kimberly has now removed the trashcan.

That’s right, rather than replace the stock photograph of Disneyland, with a stock photo of the French Quarter, she had the trashcan photoshopped out.

Here’s a blog post that captured the original site. Thank you Jim Hill. Here’s the site now, all better.

She seems to think that people were offended by the trashcan. She removed the trashcan as it were a telltale sign, as if a resident of the city would not be unable to tell them apart.

There are no curved streets in the Quarter.

Okay, granted, Kimberly can’t tell the difference.

The fact is that Kimberly Williamson Butler cannot identify one of the most easily recognizable buroughs of the city she hopes to govern.

Kimberly Williamson Butler is not New Orleans politics as ususal, by the way. She’s not from around here. (Niether am I.) She’s an import and in a league of her own.