I’ve made a decision. I’m voting for James Perry.

Up until now, since Leslie dropped out, I’ve been just coasting waiting for someone to inspire me as she did.

And, the fact is, there’s someone who inspired me almost as much as she did. And, he made a personal appeal to me early in the race which I rebuffed thinking he didn’t have the chops to make it in City Hall.

Here’s the thing. I still think he doesn’t have the chops to make it in City Hall (yet) but I think he’s the smartest most honest and most authentically civically engaged candidate we’ve got and that’s worth my vote. When James and I spoke, he had great answers to all my questions. He recognized the challenges of City Hall and the need for a measured approach. But, as he’s shown in the campaign, he doesn’t yet know how to build a team that will make him “the man”.

To be clear, I’m a fan of Mitch Landrieu. He and his family have done great things for this city and the state as a whole and he has my respect. When he’s mayor (which everybody now believes inevitable) he’ll have my full and unwavering support and I will do all I can to help.

But today, I’m voting for James Perry because I want him to stay in politics and help us make a better New Orleans.

And James, next time you run for office call me. I want to help you build that team!

— heading to the polls.

Thanks to Karen Apricot for the photo from Flickr.