The insults are now flying both ways in a battle between the man who used to run recovery projects in New Orleans and the people who live here. Some who worked with Dr. Ed Blakely say his new comments are unprofessional and unacceptable.
Blakely made the comments during an interview with CalTV, a college television station at the University of California-Berkley.
He criticized the city, its workers and its residents and added that by the time he finished his work here, city government was better streamlined.
"In New Orleans people were in jobs where they had no professional background and there was a tendency in New Orleans to reduce the job to your level rather than lift up to the requirements," Blakely says in the CalTV interview.
Blakely's comments have some New Orleanians fuming.
"I find Dr. Blakely's comments to truly be a slap in the face to all of us," said council member Arnie Fielkow.
Blakely says City Hall is plagued by bureaucratic red tape and under-educated staffers and that the city is wrought with racism.
"There is a sense now in the white community that there's blood in the water, 'we captured the political apparatus' and kind of put their foot back on black people's throats," said Blakely.
"We do have challenges here. We have racial challenges that we have to be honest about but I think we have at the end of the day more commonalities than we have differences," said Fielkow.
Upon his arrival in December 2006, Mayor Ray Nagin called Blakely "the best in the world to get us through this recovery."
"I think the buildup of Ed Blakely coming to town, expert in urban planning and redevelopment and all that, that was probably over sold," said UNO urban planning expert Ivan Miestchovich.
Miestchovich says plans from the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, UNOP and neighborhood groups laid a lot of the ground work for the city's recovery and that Blakely's job was to piece the plans together and get them moving.
"His arrival probably caused a little bit of a delay in terms of trying to do some implementation because there was pretty much a hold put on some of the projects," said Miestchovich.
Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu released a statement in response to Blakely's comments. Landrieu said: "Ed Blakely's comments are offensive and untrue. Mr. Blakely's tenure at City Hall was a complete failure. By maligning the people of New Orleans, he is only trying to cover up his incompetence. His comments and his attitude are cowardly and disgraceful. New Orleans' prospects for recovery have improved as a result of Mr. Blakely's departure."
A spokeswoman for Mayor Nagin says, "Blakely is no longer a city employee and we are moving forward."
Reached by email, Blakely declined to do an interview on the fall-out from his comments.
