New Orleans Saints fever cools interest in mayoral race

It's old hat to fret about how New Orleans mayoral elections are forced to compete every four years with Christmas shopping, holiday parties and Carnival parades.

But as the curtain rises on the crowded 2010 contest, the eight major candidates and their strategists are bracing for what could be the mother of all distractions: New Orleans Saints mania.

With the city's beloved football team entertaining thoughts of an undefeated season and a first-ever Super Bowl berth, getting voters to think about crime-fighting plans and blight strategies in the run-up to the Feb. 6 primary may be a tough sell.

"The short election season seems to be sparking little interest from the electorate because of so many distractions," said veteran political consultant Cheron Brylski, who is advising mayoral hopeful Leslie Jacobs. "And the Saints' success is making it that much harder for candidates to cut through the clutter."

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http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/12/post_200.html

a city famous for corruption, and an election date which is in the middle of all those holidays so people don't pay attention. Coincidence?

I mean football takes up 3 hours on a Sunday, figure another couple of hours during the week to talk about it, you're talking maybe 5-6 hours a week. I would think that anyone who is going to vote would pay at least half that time thinking about or working for one of the candidates