>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> MORE SCUTTLEBUTT CLANCY DUBOS < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < KNOWLEDGE < < < < < < < < < < <IS < <POWER <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 11 13 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
scuttle Butt
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Marlon Defillo served this department and the people of this city with loyalty and dedication for more than 32 years. However, after reviewing the facts, the sustained charge of Neglect of Duty concerned me greatly, and it was clear that errors in judgment were made. We thank Marlon for his service and we will continue to move this department forward.” — New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas, reacting to the immediate retirement of his No. 2 man, Deputy Chief Defillo, on July 21. Defillo was scheduled to be sentenced by Serpas the next day on one charge of neglect of duty in the Henry Glover murder case. An investigation by state police had cleared Defillo of two other charges.
PAC Men RECENT COURT RULINGS WILL NOW ALLOW INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATIONS TO POUR UNLIMITED MONEY INTO POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW PACS, SUPER-PACS (AND EVEN SUPER-DUPER PACS) WILL AFFECT UPCOMING ELECTIONS.
“I received news of Marlon’s retirement with a heavy heart. He is a good man who served the city well for over 30 years.” — Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s statement on Defillo’s retirement.
BY KIM BARKER & MARION WANG, PROPUBLICA
T
CAMPAIGN FINANCE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY AFTER the Watergate scandal, when Congress set up the FEC, tried to eliminate hidden donations and limited contributions to federal candidates and political action committees, or PACs. The next major change came in 2002. The McCainFeingold law banned political parties from collecting “soft money,” or unlimited contributions from corpo-
BoUQuets Kleinpeter Farms,
BUDDY’S IN
rations, unions and Stephen Colbert made others, and limited headlines when he estabthe ability of speciallished his Super-PAC. interest groups to run so-called “issue” ads that in reality attacked or supported candidates. Courts and the FEC almost immediately started gnawing at the new law. And in recent years, three court decisions rolled back many of the limits on special-interest groups and potentially opened the door to foreign governments or corporations spending freely on campaigns through U.S. corporations they control. (FEC regulations ban foreign nationals from contributing, but they say nothing about a foreign corporation donating money through a U.S.-operated subsidiary.) In September 2009 a federal appeals court, in EMILY’s List v. Federal Election Commission, struck down FEC regulations and opened the door for political nonprofits like EMILY’s List, which backs female Democrats who support abortion rights, to spend significantly more money on campaign activities. PAGE 10
Former Gov. Buddy Roemer, who’s been making noises for months about running for president, made it official July 21 in a speech at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, the state with the first presidential primary in the country (scheduled for Feb. 14, 2012). In a statement preceding the announcement, Roemer wrote, “No longer can I stand on the sidelines of destruction in the making and witness our great nation and its great citizens suffer. I take up this call to serve, not for notoriety or egotism, but for the future generations that will inherit President [Barack] Obama’s mistakes.” Roemer was one of the first Republicans to form a presidential bid exploratory committee, and he’s already rented an PAGE 11
c'est what? ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE?
37% YES
63% NO
Vote on “c’est what?” on bestofneworleans.com THIS WEEK’S QUESTION
Treme has been renewed by HBO for a third season. What do you think of the show?
THIS WEEK’S HEROES AND ZEROES
the longtime Louisiana dairy based in Baton Rouge, last week began packaging and distributing products by one of its smaller competitors, Smith Creamery, to help keep Smith afloat after the company’s plant exploded in June due to a suspected propane leak. The arrangement keeps Smith’s locally produced dairy products on supermarket shelves while the owners plan their next move.
Ruby Bridges,
who integrated New Orleans’ William Frantz Elementary in 1960 and became the subject of Norman Rockwell’s famous painting, The Problem We All Live With, traveled to the White House to meet with President Barack Obama on the 50th anniversary of the integration of public elementary schools. The painting, on loan from the Rockwell Museum, will hang outside the Oval Office through October.
Three Destrehan high schoolers
were honored at the White House July 19 as part of President Barack Obama’s “Champions for Change” program, which encourages good environmental works. Courtney Crane, Collin Duffel and Sean Walsh led a “Green Team” that helped institute recycling at Harry Hurst Middle School, an initiative that collected more than 16,000 gallons of recyclable materials.
The Disaster Recovery Unit
of the Louisiana Office of Community Development (OCD/DRU) was slammed in a July 18 report by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera. The audit found OCD/DRU had provided inaccurate information prior to September 2009 to homeowners who were trying to raise their houses, leaving them to pay out of pocket for expenses they’d expected to recoup with Road Home grants.
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 26 > 2011
he nation is gearing up for yet another “most expensive election in history,” the quadrennial exercise in which mind-numbing amounts of money pour into the political system. But this year promises more than just record spending; more money will be flowing from more players with more opportunities to hide the source. Emboldened by recent court decisions, groups such as Crossroads GPS (formed by Republican strategist Karl Rove), Priorities USA (formed by former aides to President Barack Obama) and Americans for Prosperity (formed by libertarian billionaire David Koch) have been busy raising huge sums from wealthy donors freed from old contribution limits. The chief umpire in this game — the Federal Election Commission (FEC) — is still struggling to write the rules for the hodgepodge of strange-sounding groups feeding the system. 527s? Super-PACs? Even Super-Duper PACs? ProPublica decided a guide is in order.
09