The Ghost of Eddie Jordan - Past, Present and Future
Many times I’ve had to be reminded of exactly how an incompetent like Eddie Jordan got to be the District Attorney of New Orleans. If an exact moment had to be culled from time, it would be his conviction of Edwin Edwards, which pushed him in to our collective consciuosness as a Law & Order type of guy.
The reality is that he did this under the guidance of ‘Dollar’ Bill Jefferson, himself a corrupt politician. Has it occurred to anyone else that Jefferson probably knew about every shady deal Edwards was in on and passed selective information, and evidentuary map if you will, on to Jordan? That Jefferson’s own dirty hands allowed him to know and selectively communicate Edwards dirty little deals? We’ll never really know.
Today we have to worry about the criminal justice system of Orleans Parish getting shut down due to the racist policies of Mister Jordan. While William Jefferson cries foul, insists the FBI persecutes him for his race, Jordan has been allowed to walk away from millions of dollars worth of court ordered settlement to those whose careers he ruined out of racial hate. And guess who picks up the bill…
We recently had another peoples victory in the ousting of Charlie Foti, who, rather than destroy the lives of about 70 members of the DA’s office, singled out Dr. Pau as a murderess, arrested her in her home & transported her IN CHAINS to Orleans parish for arraignment, after agreeing to let her present herself the next day. He then went on international TV and announced that she was a killer. Not someone accused of a crime, innocent until proven guilty, but A KILLER.
Now vindicated, of course, but her career is ruined beyond measure. Thanks Charlie.
The point is, we have election run-offs, a temporary DA, and a battle for the deciding swing vote seat on the City Council, all hanging in the balance, and in the not-too-distant future. Whatcha gonna do?
It’s time we stop blaming idiots for being idiots. It’s much harder to get them out of office than it is to prevent them from getting in. Or so it would seem.
These horrors do not visit themselves on us by accident.
These choices do not go away because we ignore them.
If we choose not to be involved, they are made for us. And we have no room to gripe or complain when another idiot takes the money, fires everyone but his friends, crucifies a healthgiver for headlines, makes deals with corporate gambling, etc. We’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.
It’s time to listen carefully, New Orleans. Long have we cried about change, FEMA, what was done to us and so on. Now it’s time to do it for ourselves. Again. The Monsters are getting dragged into the light of day, and the future lies in the balance. Open your ears and hear what is really being said. When Jacqui Clarkson tells you that bringing big business and conventions to New Orleans, rather than helping small business that is already here is the way to go, what does that mean? That more money will go out of state, to the City coffers, and raise real estate prices, a business that she has been in for thirty years? That a ‘better New Orleans’ is one without Tuba Fats, Kermit Ruffins, etc. allowed to play music in Jackson Square? That ‘looking out for you’ means taking all the benches out of Jackson Square without the permission of the Historical Society or the City Council itself?
The Ghost of Eddie Jordan looms large, my fellow New Orleanians. It will change like a Scooby Doo cartoon and rise up again and again, until we finally take back our city. These people do NOT have your best interests at heart. A City Council member with a deciding vote, steeped in the real estate development business? You gots to be kidding, man. Except this is no joke. This is a rich & powerful person, trying to make the City, and those who live here, pawns in her vision of “what New Orleans should be.” I don’t know about you, but I rather like the people here just the way they are. I just wish they’d pay attention the Ghosts Yet To Come.
Before we get screwed again.
November 5th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Back to Eddie Jordan and Edwin Edwards - from what I’ve heard, Mr. Jordan simply road on the coattails of his boss/supervisor in the Edwards case, and that the credit for taking down that corrupt politician is largely undeserved.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Rode, note road. Nyah!
But seriously:
I’ve heard the same and I wager we have several sources in common. Nice to see you still drop by to heckle my writers! If you ever feel like coming back and doing some more irregular columns you are always welcome!
I have also heard that his assistants were the ones who actually got things done….
November 6th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Hellfire and damnation! Must my spelling suffer along with my sanity?
My sources indicated that the ADAs are, for the most part, competent attorneys. However, they were not given the resources necessary to perform their jobs adequately, and had no leadership. The ADAs were very overloaded, and a lot slipped through the cracks. I’ve heard the job was little more than a fast track for burnout. I actually did a preliminary interview for an ADA position under Mr. Jordan about a year ago, and after hearing the interviewer’s spiel and seeing the look in her eyes, I didn’t pursue that avenue any further.
It should be interesting to see how the office functions with even less in the way of resources. The phrase “rats from a sinking ship” comes to mind, I fear.
Not to mention, do we really think that whoever gets elected as his replacement will be a sufficient improvement? The New Orleans voters have an abysmal track record for electing the competent, and being elected by New Orleanians appears to turn the competent corrupt. Just look at Bill Jefferson - the man is BRILLIANT, and exceedingly personable. And he keeps $90,000 in his freezer. (”I’ve got ninety-thousand pounds in my pajamas …”)
November 6th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I feel fairly confident that any change in the District Attorney’s Chair will be an improvement, if not in performance, then certainly in attitude.
While I agree about New Orleans track record (amazing, isn’t it?) for electing schmucks & crooks, you, Modern Day Estella, pointed out (in the comment above) that “the ADAs are, for the most part, competent attorneys….and had no leadership.”
Even Bill Jefferson, as you also pointed out, was able to create a push that got him re-elected. Eddie Jordan was in way over his head, unable to work with his staff, downright rude when interviewed or questioned, challenged by the paperwork of the legal system and unable to reach out much past his desk when it came to dealing with the community.
A perfect example is having the police locate witnesses in hours that he couldn’t find in days. A working relationship with the NOPD would have been a huge asset. Basic leadership skills dictate working with others. Pretending to be The Great & Powerful Oz, and hoping to rule by striking fear into the hearts of puny mortals is laughable. And in this case, a sad ending to a story that went on way too long. The king is dead. Long live the king.
November 9th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
The police officer allegedly shot by Eddie Jordan’s “visitor” has died, and the suspect is in the wind.