Mayoral candidates Virginia Boulet and Peggy Wilson are both campaigning on the platform that New Orleans needs to turn toward the private sector for help rather than relying on the government or the tourist industry. I would like see NOLA freed from the fetters that have held it captive for decades, but I don’t agree that turning toward the private sector is a viable option.

Peggy Wilson’s idea to exempt New Orleansians from taxes for the next five years is being greeted by most with a sniff. But on the Bayou Buzz election forum it seemed that a few folks, at least, found Boulet’s ideas interesting.

Boulet’s Action Plan for Economic Development is “to diversify the New Orleans economy with new jobs that bring higher pay, health insurance coverage and retirement benefits, reducing our concentration in the tourism industry” sounds great. Let’s move the corporations and sweatshops in so that all of the people without jobs can make minimum wage. Frankly, those jobs were available before, but nobody wanted them. There is always a job to be had at Wendy’s. The economy needs to be diversified and de-stratified, which can only happen with improvements to health care, subsidized housing plans, and above all, improved education.

Boulet’s long-term strategy is to “adopt corporate standards of ethics, accountability and openness.” This may be my favorite part of her campaign and it’s definitely the most quotable. A “corporate standard of ethics,” is she kidding? Boulet is trying to equate corrupt Louisiana government with all governmental systems. Not all states have the problems that we have. I have many quibbles with the system, but I think that moving toward a corporate code of ethics will put us closer to a system of Mexican maquiladoras than to an equitable society.

“The quickest way to help the small businesses of New Orleans recover from Katrina, and to attract businesses and residents back to our city, is to change the way business is done at City Hall. I will create an environment where people and businesses succeed in New Orleans based upon what-you-know rather than who-you-know. I will not tolerate any corruption or cronyism in city government.” Oh yeah, Boulet’s a sharp cookie. We all know there’s never any nepotism or cronyism in the corporate world.

“Our city will become business friendly to entrepreneurs, large business and minority owned businesses alike. Our city will be respectful of the civil rights and the dignity of all New Orleanians.” If Boulet sees dignity in sweatshops or Disneyland she's onto something.

So far, Boulet is not faring well in the polls. Out of the forerunners, Nagin, Landrieu, and Foreman, Nagin is definitely disqualified in my booth, and I’m not referring to his “chocolate city” statement. I’m talking about the fact that the city was so ill-equipped and under-prepared for the hurricane in the first place. That was the job of Nagin and Blanco, and no amount of apology makes their lethal oversight okay.