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Candidate James Arey, supporter of Le Beaux-Artes.
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I met James Arey at the Marigny Brasserie after realizing the Rose Nicaud was closed in the late afternoon. We enjoyed a coke and a club soda. I had the opportunity to speak with Arey’s mother when his cell phone rang. “Answer it,” he said (he was buying the drinks at the bar). I learned that Arey’s mother had recently been to Argentina, but that also, our candidate has an earnest sense of humor. He let me talk to his mom. If I had to choose any word to describe the way James Arey struck me during the 40 minute interview, it would be sincere. He is easy to talk to and not afraid to let on that he might not have the perfect solution when asked about the levee protection. “Any candidate who says we’re going to have Category 5 protection by July isn’t telling the truth,” Arey stated when I asked him about his plan for the levees. “For the next sixteen months, we have to keep our fingers crossed, working as diligently as we can to upgrade those levees.”
The first candidate to get into the race back in 2004 and challenge Nagin, James Arey felt City Hall had developed a really adversarial relationship with the school board and City Council. Arey was concerned that Mayor Nagin was spending more time in Hollywood at parties than attending to affairs of the city and state. That’s what got them into the race; obviously Katrina has changed their focus.
After acknowledging the importance of trailers, levees, and large scale ideas, Arey discussed the arts as an important way to revive the city’s economy. According to Arey, the arts come into play as a tool for job growth and a necessary component for bettering the education system in the city. “When you create a more well-rounded student you’re creating a class of kids who are more likely to be better in school and stay here and have jobs,” he commented. Arey believes he can organize a group of professional artists who will be paid a living wage while rotating among the public schools in New Orleans. He is not afraid to seek corporate sponsorship to fund this project. His campaign has talked to corporations like Office Depot to secure funding for an arts core. Arey explained that we need to give big corporations enough time to make a big decision so their support will be a lasting commitment, something we can count on 5, 10, 20 years down the road. Perhaps we can get sponsorship for the musician’s village out of this. Arey believes we need to secure outside funding or the musician’s village will become a curiosity instead of what it’s intended for.
When we got to the subject of displaced residents, the housing projects inevitably came up. Arey expressed frustration over the current administration’s “pissing match” with FEMA that the city and the Mayor’s office have gotten into. “The mayor seems to have it in his shaved head that he’s been wronged by FEMA and is not allowing the continued work on this 85 percent-finished work. He is now saying okay, we’re going to stop work.” He is not thinking about how many people are waiting for a physical place to live. Arey is in favor of the NAACP’s criticism of the mayor’s decision. In his opinion, the city needs to do whatever it can to make sure that every trailer on every lot can be habitable or else the population is going to stay at 195,000. Arey finds the metal gates on the first floor project doors and windows alarming and divisive, stating that it’s troubling that the Federal Authorities can’t get it through their heads that people want to come home. “It’s one thing to say it’s not safe to return home, but the problem is that the Federal Authorities are making the decision for them,” he added. He acknowledges that some of the housing projects are too damaged to be opened now, but that if we could have 50 to 60 percent of those units back in operation, many people who want to return home will return home. Hopefully allowing these citizens to return would help restore the workforce in New Orleans. He speculated that many corporations like Taco Bell and Circle K may not be opening because of the absent work force.
Again, we discussed how the arts can help fuel the economy acknowledging that when someone supports a venue that has live entertainment they’re not only supporting artists but the staff, the people behind the counters, the people who wash the dishes, wash the cars, and hold a variety of ancillary jobs.
Arey appeared most earnest when discussing his evacuation plan. Aside from explaining the state of the art satellite phones that will be in the hands of those who need them, he discussed his role in past evacuations. If Arey becomes mayor, we will have Ward leaders who will report to City Council leaders who will report to the Mayor who will report to the Governor etc. Ward leaders will organize evacuation of small specific areas. We will have people in the neighborhood standing by who have agreed to take care of pets and seniors. Through the state and guidance from FEMA we will have vehicles parked outside of parish lines, maybe on the Northshore. These vehicles will be gassed up and ready to be driven. We will already have people who have agreed to drive them. S.U.V.’s can even be involved in the process. James Arey himself drives an SUV, which he bought with proceeds from “Jeopardy,” and he will gladly assist in the evacuation.
TaraJill Ciccarone is a regular correspondent to NOLAFugees.com.
