“Corruption in other cities is so sophisticated (because of their rules) you wouldn’t find briberies. It’s very unusual you’d find someone passing money in an office somewhere.”
And it was only 5 days ago that Brian Denzer told us to look to Baltimore as a model for sophisticating up our governmental reform process.
As any fan of the TV series "The Wire" knows, New Orleans is in some ways remarkably similar to Baltimore. It's no surprise that producer David Simon's next TV project is based in New Orleans. Both are historic, demographically diverse port cities, but both have also suffered through economic disinvestment and underperforming schools, while competing with one another over the years for the ignoble title of murder capital.If you're reading NOLA.com this morning, you might find yourself asking, are they 10 years ahead of us or behind? Because this doesn't seem very sophisticated at all.
Right now, what separates New Orleans from Baltimore is 1,000 miles -- and 10 years of government reform.
Attorneys will today deliver their opening statements at the trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon. Dixon is accused of stealing gift cards donated for needy families and would be removed from office if convicted. A jury of nine women and three men will decide her fate.
I don't know why NOLA.com chose to run the Dixon story a few days after the Denzer op-ed. They've been mixing in a greater volume of irrelevant to NOLA sensationalism lately so I'm sure that's some of what's going on. I think the juxtaposition is helpful though. It advances the argument that operational reforms like Denzer's NolaStat proposals can improve municipal effectiveness even as the political leadership engages in the inevitable clownishness.
If, on the other hand, all you want is a highly politicized department of slaying all the dragons (which is what the IG was always going to be), you just end up running in place.
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