Mayor wants to “mend some fences” with governor-elect

NEW ORLEANS (AP)– Mayor Ray Nagin, who supported Bobby Jindal in Saturday’s runoff for governor, says he would “love to mend some fences” with winner Kathleen Blanco, but is not convinced that Blanco will do more for the city.
Nagin said he had a “pretty cordial” conversation Sunday morning with Blanco and also has spoken with U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, who two weeks ago sharply criticized his decision to cross party lines and back Jindal, a Republican.
“I’m willing to work with Ms. Blanco and her administration,” Nagin said. “I just hope and pray that she proves me wrong. But now they have to deliver.”
Despite backing a losing candidate, Nagin said he was “at peace with my decision” to endorse Jindal after Randy Ewing, the Democratic candidate he backed in the Oct. 4 primary, failed to make the runoff.
The mayor said Jindal offered the specific commitments the mayor wanted on issues such as aid for the city’s port, airport and schools, and Blanco did not.
“I think she understands the needs of New Orleans, but she was more focused on the state’s budget problems and wasn’t making the connection that if you solve some of New Orleans’ problems it would allow the state to grow,” Nagin said.
Blanco said Sunday that she has “been working for New Orleans for eight years as lieutenant governor, and I’ll do no less as governor. As New Orleans goes, so goes the state, and we understand that.”