Seven of the eight candidates for the New Orleans City Council District A seat debated for more than two hours Monday night at Loyola’s Nunemaker auditorium, leaving audience members with only one unanswered question: Where does the incumbent Jay Batt stand on these issues?

City Councilmember Jay Batt did not attend the forum because he was sick, according to Loyola Public Affairs. Batt was not able to be reached for this article.

Few students attended the debate, which touched on a wide range of issues affecting the diverse district that includes part of Uptown and Lakeview. With such a spectrum of damaged communities, the candidates focused on everything, including programs for dealing with blighted property, public education reform, insurance company manipulation, trash pickup and maintaining historical preservation while rebuilding.

The two youngest candidates, Independents David Nowak, 22, and Sonia Gupta, 25, fielded questions alongside the other five candidates: Democrat Shelley Stephenson Midura, Republicans Tom Wagner and Sal Palmisano, and Independents Ray Ladeche and Stephen Saussy.

All the candidates agreed on issues regarding elimination of corruption and incompetence in city council, reform of city government and the importance of communities in planning neighborhoods.

Loyola’s own Gupta, a second-year law student, joined the city council race on a zero-dollar campaign and the image of New Orleans as a family. At the debate, Gupta listed her top three priorities as federal government accountability with the levee system, a city-wide charter school system and tackling crime and poverty. A first-time candidate for public office, Gupta said her age is not an issue. Instead of the trend of corrupt politicians, she said elected officials should return to being public servants, serving the people instead of themselves.

Nowak, a self-described “progressive with reform in mind,” advocated an increase in minimum wage – $10 and $5 for jobs reliant on tips – because people need extra help with transportation costs, especially since Hurricane Katrina. Nowak, a homeowner, said in the end homeowners should be taken care of, and he called for an expansion of homestead exemptions. Nowak diverted from the group in his approach to preservation planning in rebuilding. If the original house can be maintained, he said, it should be.

“If you want to rebuild where you are, go ahead,” Nowak said.

Landeche, an engineer in the oil and gas industry, said good education and training were key for both government and the education system. An educating workforce attracts corporations and the city needs to build on its culture businesses, he said.

“Business likes to go where there are good workers,” Landeche said.

Unlike some of the other candidates, Landeche said he supported a voucher system, not as the ultimate solution, but as something in place of the current system.

Midura said she was not afraid to make the tough decisions facing the City Council, in reference to the fact that the city is about to be bankrupt. She said she would make those decisions, such as “decisions between police officers and potholes [because] we’re all in this together.” When asked about zoning in Lakeview and protecting the neighborhood from becoming populated with townhouses, Midura stated her support for smart growth and a zoning ordinance in Lakeview.

Midura said one of her top issues is creating a plan for strategic neighborhood redevelopment, not hit-or-miss redevelopment. She also said reform of city government, including a board of ethics and taking the politics out of zoning, will help attract business industry.

Palmisano, with some background in government as a member of the Louisiana State Republican Party’s Bylaws and Special Endorsements Committee, said he had already begun to form the necessary relationships with government. In response to a question regarding property tax exemptions, Palmisano said the most beneficial outcome would be if the assessors consolidate to one assessor and everybody receives a fair assessment.

“We cannot afford to carry anyone this go-round,” he said.

Saussy emphasized the need for accountability of taxpayer dollars and is one of the founders of nocorruption.com, a Web site designed to inform citizens about government spending. When asked his opinion of Mayor Ray Nagin’s performance post-Katrina, Saussy said the mayors performance goes back to before Katrina.

“I would have had water at the Superdome; I would have had an emergency plan; I would have given direction,” Saussy said.

Having a strategy for rebuilding New Orleans, Saussy said, was important so the city doesn’t grow too fast and people don’t get lost in the system. He said the district should rebuild the areas with the greatest potential to generate revenue and bring in groceries, pharmacies and residences to repopulate.

Wagner called the Planning Commission’s report a fair start but emphasized the need for a plan that puts neighborhoods first. He also introduced the reform of education to become neighborhood-based, unlike charter schools or the current public school system. On the issue of a timeline for rebuilding neighborhoods, Wagner said the city needed a deadline, but that it cannot be done without a flood map and information for homeowners.

District A is comprised of the Uptown university areas, north and south Carrollton Avenue, parts of Mid-City and Lakeview.

Naomi King can be reached at [email protected].