Who Will Run New Orleans?

Its 2010 mayoral elections are on the horizon. Will an A-list celebrity or a low-profile politician take the reins in post-Katrina NOLA?

By: Eli Ackerman | Posted: August 27, 2009 at 12:50 PM

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

8. Warren Riley

The unpopular superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department has said he won’t run, but political insiders have indicated he still might. Given the ongoing FBI investigations into wanton NOPD brutality, long-standing insinuations about Riley’s own integrity as he came through the force and a local crime rate that makes Baltimore and Detroit look like rural Iceland, it’s hard to imagine what would compel him to run for political office. Maybe he’s Rob Couhig’s pick.

Pros: Pleading the fifth

Cons: Busy committing crimes

Odds: 850-1