Qualifying for the October governor's race is still seven months away, but that did not stop the head of the Democratic Governors Association from saying recently, Mayor Mitch Landrieu would make a "strong candidate" who is "carefully considering" to run.
But experts say he faces many challenges.
Those who follow the polls and candidate war chests closely, predict it will be a tough uphill battle for the mayor.
"It's going to be very, very difficult for anybody, especially a
Landrieu I think, in this particular milieu of Louisiana
politics at this stage of things to win a governor's race," said Eyewitness News Political Analyst Clancy DuBos.
"The problem is he has the "D" after his name and people are voting for
the candidates with the "R" after their name," said UNO political scientist Dr. Ed Chervenak.
Both experts say money is the name of the game and despite a fundraiser this Wednesday night for the Mitch Landrieu Campaign Fund, they say it will be hard for him to catch up financially with the other candidates.
"The other candidates are raising millions of dollars and
already have millions of dollars on hand, so he's way
behind the curve on raising money," added Dr. Chervenak.
The other problem they say is the President.
"Mitch Landrieu was endorsed by Barak Obama so I can see the
billboards right now, 'Barack Obama wants Mitch Landrieu to be governor.'
How is that going to play outside Orleans Parish," said DuBos.
They believe candidates won't want to be associated with the republican incumbent either.
The political science experts say that Governor Jindal's approval
rating right now is less than 40 percent, so they believe in the upcoming election
even the republican candidates are going to distance themselves from Jindal's policies.
And while they think Mayor Landrieu is the strongest democrat in the state with very high name recognition, they don't think he could get more than around 45 percent of the vote.
The state Democratic Party did not get back with us and the mayor's office said he was unavailable for an interview, but issued this statement:
"Mayor Mitch Landrieu's sole focus is on running the City of New Orleans and bringing people together to continue the progress we've made on reducing murder, creating jobs, making government more efficient and increasing opportunities for our children."
NEW ORLEANS -- Right now, the Canal streetcar route ends with the track and shelter wedged between the cemeteries and the intersection of three busy roads -- Canal Street, Canal Boulevard and City Park Avenue.
But connecting buses stop on Canal Boulevard, and riders will tell you they often have to run for their lives trying to cross the street.
"It's crazy, because the cars be coming and they don't stop at the stop sign," said Delgado Political Science student Breion Stacker, a frequent streetcar rider. "Then you got to run, and you got to watch these cars coming from all the way over there."
Navigating the busy intersection can be quite scary.
"It is pretty dangerous, because one day I was crossing, and the car was coming flying around, and I had to hurry up and run, run across the street," said Sandra Edwards.
The RTA says the final phase of the Canal Streetcar line is to build a new transportation terminal. The $10 million project would add new tracks, turning the trolleys onto Canal Boulevard, and replacing the current bus stop with a streetcar shelter. Nearby bus stops would handle the six bus lines passing here.
"I think it would be nice, because of that traffic right there," said James Robertson.
The original plan was to put the tracks in the neutral ground, but when that surfaced in 2012, there were complaints about losing the trees and the monument back there. So the RTA went back to the drawing board, and now the idea is to put the tracks in the roadway.
RTA leaders think the new transportation hub would be much safer, and the riders we talked to agree.
"That would make a big difference, because I wouldn't have to walk all the way over here," said Stacker.
On March 9 at 6 p.m. in the Jesuit High School Auditorium, the RTA will hold a public hearing to discuss the project and take comments about the Environmental Assessment for the plan.
At this point, there is no scheduled date to start construction.
