New Orleans - Some of the candidates for New Orleans mayor are expected to get more aggressive this week. Labor Day normally gets local campaigns rolling and at least one candidate for mayor said he is about to begin running campaign ads.
"This week you'll see my commercials start running, bill boards will go up, campaign headquarters will open," said State Senator Edwin Murray, D-New Orleans, who is running for mayor. Murray and several other mayoral candidates were out shaking hands at the annual AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in City Park.
Businessman John Georges is considering the race and said he still plans to make an announcement in October. When he arrived at the picnic ,he said he was there to show support for the union workers and their families. "These are the workers of Louisiana, these are the workers of New Orleans..these are the people whose jobs are at stake when..the political leaders don't fix the economy," Georges told FOX 8 News.
State Representative Austin Badon also took advantage of the picnic which attracted over a thousand people. While shaking hands and posing for pictures, Badon said the community has known for a while that he was a committed candidate for mayor. He said, "You are going to have a lot of candidates who have said that this is their make or break day, but my candidacy started a few months ago."
City Councilman-at-Large Arnie Fielkow had promised a decision by Labor Day, but last week he was still pondering the race. Former Council President Eddie Sapir is not ruling out being a candidate, and Constable and former council member Lambert Bossiere said he is being urged to consider the race. Rob Couhig has been mentioned as a possible candidate, as has State Representative Karen Carter-Peterson who told FOX 8 she continues to consider the race.
Fair housing advocate James Perry has already thrown his hat into the race. Qualifying for the race is in December.
