With the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina upon us, countless ink has been spilled attempting to cover the human tragedy and the slow pace of the area’s reconstruction. Yet even as the solutions to some problems slowly unfold, other problems-older and more sinister-arise once again.
For as long as anyone can remember, Louisiana’s plethora of resources has been ill spent by its larger-than-life leaders, who all too often fall into a culture of corruption. With the needs of a city and state now greater than ever, our elected leadership will bear the scrutiny of not just Louisiana voters but the American public at large. Any appearance of impropriety cannot and will not be tolerated.
That is why Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., does not deserve re-election. Jefferson represents the 2nd District, which encompasses almost all of New Orleans as well as some of the suburbs. As the target of an FBI probe, Jefferson was videotaped taking $100,000 from an undercover federal agent in the form of a bribe.
A raid of the congressman’s home revealed $90,000 stashed in Jefferson’s freezer-funds that matched those he took from the agent.
These funds allegedly originated from a technology company hoping to capitalize on the congressman’s influence to gain a foothold in the emerging media market of Nigeria. Two men close to Jefferson, including one of his former congressional aides, recently plead guilty to various charges involving bribery of a public official and conspiracy to bribe.
In the past, Rep. Jefferson has won re-election with ease. In the 2000 election, he ran unopposed, and the past two elections he has handily won with about 80 percent of the vote against nominal opposition. However, with the 2006 congressional elections looming in November, this one promises to be different.
Jefferson’s legal troubles have not gone unnoticed in political circles. A number of potentially strong challengers have emerged from the dozen filed candidates for the seat. Three current or former state lawmakers have signed papers making them eligible for Jefferson’s seat, most notably democratic state Sen. Derrick Shepherd.
Despite all of Jefferson’s problems, only the naive or politically deaf would immediately dismiss Jefferson’s chances of retaining his seat. The power of incumbency has become so great that over 95 percent of incumbents in recent elections kept their seats. Earlier this year, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Tex., won the Republican Party primary in his re-election bid against several challengers while under indictment.
To be perfectly clear, Jefferson has not been convicted of a crime or even indicted. Nevertheless, there arises from this whole situation such a stench of unethical behavior that even if no wrongdoing is ever conclusively proven, this incident has diminished Rep. Jefferson’s reputation in the eyes of the media and his colleagues.
Following the incident, his own party stripped him of his valuable assignment to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, responsible for writing tax laws. From his perch on this committee, Jefferson would have had enough influence to make a difference to legislation affecting the Gulf Coast. Instead, the value of Jefferson to his constituents has greatly decreased in the time of their greatest need. That is reason enough to oppose his bid for another term, regardless of whether or not he is convicted of a crime.
As a political moderate who usually votes for democrats, I never thought poorly of Jefferson as a congressman until now. As a black man with a liberal voting record representing a liberal district with a majority of blacks, he represented his district’s profile both in appearance and in substance. Thankfully, the candidates vying to replace him offer that same representation without the taint of corruption.
One can only hope that with this election, New Orleans natives will send a different message to the rest of the country than they did in their mayoral election. As unfair as it might be, in politics perception is what matters, and Mayor Ray Nagin has had his shortcomings in that department. The re-election of Jefferson would only cement in Americans’ minds the negative perception of Louisiana through the ineloquence and indiscretions of our leaders.
The only path to recovery and healing lies through smart and honest government, both in perception and in reality. We dare not tolerate mediocrity any longer, and we cannot endure another term of William Jefferson’s bad publicity. The citizens of New Orleans already endure enough strain without this albatross hanging around their necks.
—–Contact Winston Skinner at [email protected]