By Elena Temple Webb
February 15, 2010

Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu was elected the 61st mayor of New Orleans on February 6. With over 60 percent of the vote, Landrieu easily avoided a run-off, making it “the first time in the city’s modern history that a mayoral race not featuring an incumbent was settled in the primary,” as reported The Times Picayune.

Landrieu will be the first white mayor since his father left office in 1978, over three decades ago. Landrieu carried 58 percent of the black votes cast.

The mayor-elect called Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran after his election and pledged an active and total participation within the Conference of Mayors. They discussed transition assistance and the continued strong relationship between New Orleans and the Conference of Mayors since New Orleans was a founder of the organization in 1932.

Landrieu’s father, Moon Landrieu – elected mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978 – served as President of the Conference of Mayors from 1975 to 1976.

In the same vein, Richard Daley Sr. served as mayor of Chicago from 1955 to 1976, and his son has served as mayor from 1989 to the present. Also, Ernest “Dutch” Morial served as mayor of New Orleans from 1978 to 1986, and his son Marc Morial served as mayor of New Orleans from 1994 to 2002. Former Mayor Moon Landrieu and these four men all served as President of the Conference of Mayors during their mayoral tenures: 1959-1960; 1975-1976; 1996-1997; 1985-1986; and 2001-2002 respectively.

Landrieu was instrumental in the Conference of Mayors’ effort to assist the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by lending office space and helping to coordinate a meeting with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, the New Orleans city council and Conference of Mayors leadership.

Landrieu had run for mayor of New Orleans twice before, but the third time proved to be the charm for the 49 year-old former state lawmaker from the Broadmoor neighborhood, who has served as Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor for six years.

When Landrieu is sworn in May 6, he will “inherit a fits-and'starts recovery, a stubborn crime problem and a fragile city budget that has been slashed in key areas,” according to news reports.

As he prepares to assume what is arguably the most powerful political job in the New Orleans region, Landrieu’s sister, US Senator Mary Landrieu, begins her thirteenth year in the U.S. Senate; and another sister, Madeline sits on the Civil District Court bench. According to the New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper, “his victory cements the Landrieu clan’s status as Louisiana’s preeminent political dynasty.”