Action Alert - Demand Louisiana Governor Blanco take on the right of return

All Out for the "We Want Our Money" Rally on Saturday, November 18th in Baton Rogue, LA at 12 pm on the Capitol Mall!

Governor Kathleen Blanco has hijacked over $10 billion from the Federal Government. Congress appropriated this money to assist displaced people and to reconstruct New Orleans and other areas damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  

To control these funds, Blanco created an extrajudicial body, accountable fundamentally only to her, called the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA). The LRA is wholly unrepresentative of Louisiana’s population, particularly of New Orleans, in both its race and class composition. The LRA is a who’s who of Louisiana’s rich and powerful. The LRA represents the interests of major developers, who are intent on preventing the return to New Orleans of its Black working class majority and turning it into the Las Vegas of the South.  

Governor Blanco and the LRA are offering nothing to renters, who constitute the vast majority of those displaced. Their Road Home program is focused exclusively on homeowners. Under the LRA renters get nothing to make them whole or to reimburse them for their losses. This is a gross injustice and must be rectified.  

Yet, even for most homeowners, Blanco and the LRA program offers very little. The Road Home Program advertises that Homeowners are eligible for up to $150,000 grants to repair your homes. But the size of each grant is based on the pre-Katrina value of the homeowner’s property minus what has already been received from insurance companies, minus any FEMA grants; minus penalties for not having flood insurance, and minus penalties for moving out of the state if the homeowner  sells the property. The equation leaves homeowners with barely enough funds to reconstruct a room in their former homes, especially given today’s inflated construction costs.  

Rather we need a resident return program based on the principles of justice and equity. The program must include renters as well as homeowners.  Renters should be able to return to a fairly-priced housing; not housing priced out of the range of the majority of New Orleans’ working people. Those who had homes with paid off mortgages should have their homes replaced.   

We must not allow Governor Blanco to get away with ethnic cleansing and thievery.  

Call, fax, or email Governor Kathleen Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority starting Monday, November 13th and demand the following for all those affected and displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita:

1. That the LRA be disbanded and a representative institution or body is created to oversee and govern the recovery and reconstruction process;
2. That renters are compensated for their losses and be provided with resources to aid with moving costs, deposits, and rent assistance;
3. That all of the public housing units in New Orleans be reopened immediately;
4. That there be no demolition of any of the public housing units in New Orleans;
5. That rent gouging cease and decent affordable housing be made available; and
6. That funds for the total replacement of privately owned homes be made available.
   

Sample Letter:

Dear Gov. Blanco and Mr. Kopplin, 

I am seriously concerned about the process for recovery in devastated New Orleans. I am particularly worried about the make-up of the LRA board and the exclusion of renters from its currently proposed programs. Furthermore, I doubt that the formula developed to provide grants to homeowners will be enough to really assist poor and working class people in rebuilding their homes. I recommend that The LRA be disbanded and a representative institution or body be created to oversee and govern the recovery and reconstruction process; that renters are compensated for their losses and be provided with resources to aid with moving costs, deposits, and rent assistance; that all of the public housing units in New Orleans be reopened immediately; that there be no demolition of any of the public housing units in New Orleans; that rent gouging cease and decent affordable housing be made available; and that funds for the total replacement of privately owned homes be made available. 

Thank you, 

Mail to:

• Governor Kathleen Blanco, PO Box 94004 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9004 Call: (866) 366-1121 Fax: (225) 342-7099

• Louisiana Recovery Authority, Andy Kopplin - executive director, 150 Third Street Suite 200, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70801 Call: (225) 342-1700 Fax: (225) 342-0002