Some of Louisiana’s leading African American politicians and activists believe Bobby Jindal made the effort to reach out to them, but he did not aggressively enough counter the negative campaign against him, they contend. Meanwhile, Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, an African-American and a Democrat, crossed the party line to support Jindal. James M. Singleton, a former City Councilman-at-Large who has retired from elected politics but is an integral part of the Black Organization for Leadership Development, a leading group for African American interests in the State, spoke to Ela Dutt regarding Jindal’s campaign.

James M. Singleton

‘He did not respond to allegations and some people walked away thinking they were true’ I was naturally disappointed that Bobby lost. We are going back to see and analyze why. I think the bottom line is that he did not respond to the allegations and some people walked away thinking they were true. I’ve been in politics a long time and if somebody slapped you on the head, if you don’t respond, people think it might be true. In the end, Bobby reached out to do those things ---- reaching out to Blacks. Ultimately, he didn’t get what he thought he would get (in terms of Black support). The other side just ran an aggressive campaign. I think his platform addressed all of the issues and he had detailed answers to all of the issues. If you look at both platforms, the only difference was his one explained in details what he wanted to do. He emphasized that he was for all Louisianans. He should have been responding but he refused to respond ---- and that’s different from running a negative campaign. There’s a difference between accusations and a negative campaign. If you know the accusations weren’t true, you should be able to respond. The last discussion we had was the Sunday before the election. I gave him my opinion and what I thought he needed to do. I don’t think it was too late to change things. I don’t think even he (Jindal) knows what his political future is right now. I spoke to him a few days ago. All he said to me is he plans to stay in Louisiana and raise his children there.

Ray Nagin

Excerpts from story by Bruce Aggler in The Times Picayune, local publication Ray Nagin, Mayor, City of New Orleans, who crossed party line to endorse Jindal New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who supported Bobby Jindal in Saturday’s runoff for governor, said Monday he would “love to mend some fences” with winner Kathleen Blanco.... But Nagin made clear he has yet to be convinced that a Blanco administration will do as much for New Orleans as Jindal would have.... Despite backing a losing candidate, Nagin said he was “at peace with my decision” to endorse Jindal after Randy Ewing, the Democratic candidate he backed in the primary, finished out of the money. He said he thought his backing helped swing a large number of black votes in New Orleans to Jindal.... Jindal offered the specific commitments the mayor wanted on issues such as aid for the city’s port, airport and schools, and Blanco did not, he said.... Mary Landrieu, a leading Blanco backer, said two weeks ago she was “surprised and disappointed” that Nagin, a Democrat, would support a Republican....