[StBernard] Taffaro ready for test of stamina

[Westley Annis]

Taffaro ready for test of stamina
TEST OF STAMINA 
Sunday, December 02, 2007
By Paul Rioux
St. Bernard bureau 
Jogging down a Chalmette street shrouded in pre-dawn fog, Craig Taffaro kept
his gaze fixed on the road ahead as he passed mounds of debris and
silhouettes of gutted homes. 

 
The newly elected president of St. Bernard Parish seemed blissfully unaware
of the signs of Hurricane Katrina's destruction. 

"This is my therapy," said Taffaro, a Parish Council member who defeated
incumbent Henry "Junior" Rodriguez in a bitter runoff two weeks ago.
"Running helps keep me sane while dealing with the recovery on a daily
basis." 

It has often been said that the road to recovery from Katrina is a marathon,
not a sprint. But Taffaro said that in St. Bernard -- where all but a
handful of structures flooded -- it's even more grueling. 

"It's more like an ultramarathon or a triathlon," he said as he set out on
Thursday's training run. 

And he would know, having completed two Ironman triathlons, which include a
2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. 

"You experience virtually the entire spectrum of your emotional and physical
being during a triathlon," said Taffaro, who is training for a
half-triathlon in May. "In the end, you're just happy to make it to the
finish line. It takes everything you've got." 

Taffaro, 42, will need to tap that same determination after he is sworn in
Jan. 8 because St. Bernard's sluggish recovery hasn't progressed much beyond
the starting line by some yardsticks. 

More than two years after the hurricane, the Parish Council still meets in a
triple-wide trailer behind the gutted government complex in Chalmette, where
renovation work has yet to begin. 

Vacuum trucks still rumble down residential streets to suck raw waste from
the broken sewer system. And although some neighborhoods, including the
Jumonville Plantation subdivision in Meraux where Taffaro lives, have
largely been rebuilt, there are vast tracts of blighted homes throughout the
parish. 

Widespread dissatisfaction with the pace of the recovery helped fuel
Taffaro's victory over Rodriguez, who has held elected office in St. Bernard
for 32 years and hadn't lost an election since a justice of the peace race
in 1972. 

As a council member, Taffaro focused on quality-of-life issues after the
hurricane, such as sponsoring ordinances to combat residential blight and
require property owners to maintain their lawns. 

"He's been one of the most energetic council members since the hurricane,"
Council Chairman Joey DiFatta said. "His style is more inclusive than
Junior's. Whether that translates to better results, we'll have to wait and
see." 


Changing the mind-set 

A licensed psychotherapist, Taffaro said half the battle St. Bernard faces
is mental. 

"The major challenge is to denormalize the disaster experience," he said.
"The danger is that people will become immune to their surroundings and lose
the sense of urgency and motivation to improve things. We have to be
constantly on guard." 

Taffaro said he will present a 100-day plan to try to jump-start the
parish's recovery after he takes office. He said the plan will set a
timetable for renovating government buildings and fire stations. Some of
those projects have already been put out to bid. 

Taffaro said he will employ a "bottom-up" management style that values
feedback from parish employees. 

"I want to have at least a brief discussion with every employee to create an
atmosphere where they feel they can contribute," he said. 

He also said he will implement a computerized system to track public
complaints and inquiries to ensure they are addressed. 

"Every call will be given an item number and assigned to an employee to
track," he said. "There will be no more wondering, 'What happened to my
call? How come no one ever got back to me?' " 

Taffaro, who often quotes Bible verses when giving speeches, said his
Catholic faith helped him get through the bitter campaign in which
unsubstantiated allegations against him surfaced in YouTube videos on the
Internet and in mailers sent to parish voters. 

Taffaro said he has provided information to the FBI about who was behind the
attacks and vowed to "pursue all legal avenues to hold them accountable." 

He said it's not about settling scores but cleaning up the political
landscape in St. Bernard, long known for its bare-knuckle campaigning. 

"We should not have to accept that character assassination through
slanderous, premeditated attacks is an inevitable part of the political
process," he said. "The reason why it continues to exist is that no one
tries to stop it." 

Rodriguez has denied any involvement in raising the allegations. But Taffaro
said that if Rodriguez disapproved of the attacks, he should have denounced
them publicly. 

"Any public official who has been in office for 32 years like Mr. Rodriguez
must have done something to satisfy his constituency," Taffaro said. "You
can't take that away from him, but I think it's a shame that his political
career is ending under such a veil of negativity." 


Less money, silver lining 

St. Bernard's charter prohibits the parish president from having a source of
income beyond the position's $70,000 salary. This will force Taffaro to set
aside his private practice as a psychotherapist and give up a teaching
position at Nunez Community College. 

Taffaro, who has eight children with his wife, Debbie, said it will be a
financial sacrifice that comes with a silver lining. 

"Taking on this job might actually simplify our lives," he said. "For the
first time in 20 years, there will be fewer things competing for my
attention." 

But he said he will always find time to go for a brisk run. 

Not long after Katrina's floodwaters receded, Taffaro helped organize a
monthly series of Return to St. Bernard races. 

"It was good to experience a little camaraderie in the midst of all the
devastation," he said. 

He said a similar approach might help the parish navigate the bureaucracy
that many residents believe is holding back St. Bernard's recovery. 

"If we could get everyone from FEMA, the Road Home program and parish
government to go on a good, long run together, maybe we could work through
some issues," he said. 

. . . . . . . 

Paul Rioux can be reached at prioux at timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3321.