[StBernard] Mudslinging leaves St. Bernard in need of image overhaul

[Westley Annis]

Mudslinging leaves St. Bernard in need of image overhaul

Published: Sunday, November 27, 2011, 9:00 AM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

Hurricane Katrina-ravaged St. Bernard Parish recently wrapped up a long
negative media blitz that bombarded markets from Gonzales to Biloxi, Miss.,
with cutting depictions of the community's political landscape, portraying
back-room dealing, general cronyism, corruption -- even adultery, kidnapping
and candidate-induced death.

Still down about half its pre-Katrina population and trying desperately to
attract new residents and businesses, many say the aftermath of this fall's
elections has left St. Bernard with a bruised image that needs tending. The
past few months, Louisiana and Mississippi residents watched, at times
amused, at times confused, and often shocked, as a barrage of televisions
spots jutted between their favorite shows.

One campaign advertisement showed the current St. Bernard president bedecked
in a Napoleon costume and riding a pig as money fell from the sky and a
narrator alleged, among other accusations, that the little Napoleon had
siphoned money from the BP oil spill and therefore was riding "high on the
hog." Another alleged the newly elected sheriff had kidnapped an old woman
and aided in stealing one of the largest fortunes in the metro New Orleans
area.

Then there were allegations of a candidate's extramarital affairs leading to
the jilted husband's suicide, another candidate's gambling addictions,
bankruptcy filings, a clerk of court providing favors to family members,
jabs about various Supreme Court sanctions, and a former parish president
banned by the Army Corps of Engineers due to racist antics.

All in all, political candidates of the 35,897-person parish injected some
$3 million into metro New Orleans television, newspaper and radio
advertisements, mainly aggressive, scathing attacks that often reached more
than a million viewers and readers across at least two states.

Greg Buisson, a political media consultant who runs Buisson Creative
Strategies in Metairie, says the prevailing attitude was "unless you attack
your opponent you cannot win a race."

"And anytime you have that much infighting, it is not productive for the
parish from an economic development standpoint, as businesses generally feel
like it will be very difficult to do business where there is such division
between key leaders in a community," Buisson said.

Say the advertisements had depicted Biloxi instead of St. Bernard, and we
all watched them several times a day on television and perused them in the
paper over our morning coffee, or throughout the work day on the web,
Buisson suggested.

"Would you then be tempted to buy a home in Biloxi or spend the weekend
there?" Buisson asked.

Buisson ran the winning campaign of St. Bernard Sheriff-elect Jimmy
Pohlmann, who was one of the few candidates not to engage in television
mudslinging. Of the three top parish races, Pohlmann also won by the largest
margin.

Pohlmann, Parish President-elect David Peralta and Clerk of Court-elect
Randy Nunez have discussed sitting down in the next few months, possibly
with Buisson and others, "to come out with a plan to address negative
campaigning and how it affected the image of our parish," Pohlmann said
after the Nov. 19 election.

"Here we are trying to transition from recovery and trying to get back on
our feet, and this definitely tarnishes us," Pohlmann said.

Nunez added, "It was such a divisive election across the board, the way
every campaign went to a negative." He admits "politics gets nasty," but
said "a lot of people got out of bounds in this one."

He says the campaign season is another hit to his parish that already had
the one-two punch of Katrina and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

"Recently, we were on track, building back up, but then this election came
along, and these campaign ads went everywhere, and that's what they are
seeing St. Bernard is," he said. "I mean, imagine, they are like, 'Oh my
God, what is going on in this little parish down there?' "

Peralta says that now the newly elected officials must "rehabilitate the
image that was portrayed."

"It's over and we need to move on, but we are not going to correct the
problem overnight," Peralta said.

Peralta, Nunez and Pohlmann say the image can change by showing positive
leadership, and creating more open and transparent government.

"We have to lead by example," Nunez said.

Peralta promised no more "rumors and innuendo," saying instead "there will
be facts that people can see, posted online, transparent."

"If people know what is going on, they feel more secure in government and
more involved." Peralta added.

University of New Orleans political scientist Ed Chervenak explains while
St. Bernard has always been a tight-knit community, insular, with family
rivalry-type grudges presented in the political arena, that, ultimately,
"advertising is as old as the Republic."

"You know, it's part of the game of politics and I think a lot of people
understand that," he said.

Greg Rigamer, a demographer who runs the New Orleans-based consulting firm
GCR & Associates, suggests metro New Orleans was so flush with negative St.
Bernard advertising that it overwhelmed people to the point that they simply
no longer paid attention.

"There is the effect of just kind of washing it all up," Rigamer said.
"There is just so much that you don't see anything."

"It does not help the community, but I think it is soon forgotten."

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch can be reached at bbloch at timespicayune.com or
504.826.3321.