Presidential candidate Mitch Landrieu may want to take a long look in the mirror of honesty if he wants to step on the national stage. Mitch keeps the public in the dark on removing their monuments because that is his modus operandi–he has a closet full of skeletons.

The New Orleans media has given Mitch a long leash. Forget about the balcony tax, your second property tax bill, the sinkhole, increased parking penalties, the traffic camera money-grab, the proposed curfew for Bourbon Street, the NOPD consent decree, the crime, the brazen violence, and the murders. Mitch has baggage most people are unaware of–secret property, well hidden white supremacy, and an extramarital affair.

Property is an interesting topic.  Especially property owned by Mitch and his family that he tried to hide from the public.

Decades back, the Landrieu family made a property investment in parking lots, one clump of lots on O’Keefe Ave. and one on Girod St. The origin is unclear. Shelley Landrieu said she could not remember whether in 1994 her father, former Mayor Moon Landrieu, purchased the properties or if she and her eight siblings paid for them. Talk about elite people problems! The group named “Nineland” lists Mayor Mitch Landrieu as an Officer of the company on the Secretary of State’s website.

The New Orleans media has only mentioned the Landrieu lots once.  In July 2013, Tyler Bridges of The Lens wrote about the South Market development – as did we at The Hayride. The Landrieus’ parking lot on O’Keefe was classified for tax exemptions and Bridges inquired about it being a conflict of interest. At the time Mitch’s sister Mary was a U.S. Senator and his sister Madeleine served as a judge. These are some excerpts from The Lens’ piece:

The mayor and an aide told The Lens that the issue wasn’t worth writing about.

“The consequence of you writing that story is people will question my integrity,” Landrieu told The Lens in an interview. “I don’t see the story.”

While the story did not note the value or history of the Girod St. lot across from Herbsaint, there are two lots.  One does not have any information on the Assessor’s website.  The other had the certified value at $1,044,200. The last transaction on the Assessor’s online database for this property is dated May 1964 with no cost of sale and says the current ownership is the United States of America. Shelley Landrieu, another sibling who is listed as Nineland’s agent, said they own the Girod lot mainly so the family can erect a viewing stand on St. Charles to watch Mardi Gras parades. Yeah, sure.

The O’Keefe Ave. lots have seen a nice bump in value.  City property records show that Nineland bought the O’Keefe parking lots in 1994 for a total of $295,000. In 2013, their value was $1,008,890.  After the development of the South Market District, the current Assessor certified values of the seven parcels combined is $1,513,300.  In less than three years, the Landrieu siblings increased their property value by half a million dollars.

The big question about the lots centers on code enforcement. The Landrieu lots on O’Keefe do not have the fence/barrier required in the City Code.

Sec. 26-483. – All parking lots shall be separated from walkways, sidewalks, streets, or alleys by a wall, fence, excluding chain-link fencing, landscaping, curbing wheel stops or any combination thereof, approved by the department of public works, safety and permits, and the Central Business District Historic Landmarks Commission when applicable, so as to prevent all vehicles parked thereon from protruding over publicly owned areas.

How could a parking lot owned by the Landrieu family remain out of code for more than two decades?  They should be fined and it should be retroactive.  Let’s see how quickly it becomes compliant!

The parking situation downtown has evolved more since The Lens article in 2013. On January 11, 2016, Mitch doubled the hourly parking meter rates to $3 and extended the collection hours to 7 pm daily. The City also increased the penalties for parking tickets from $20 to $30. The $3 per hour rate is applied in the French Quarter, Marigny, Warehouse District, and Central Business District.  The Landrieu family owns two parking lots in the CBD.

A Mayor who owns two parking lots made street parking more costly. How or why the New Orleans media did not bring this one in to picture with the pushback against the parking overhaul is unknown.

Let’s move to Mitch’s favorite subject: white supremacy. Mitch, Mary, and Moon have never acknowledged their African ancestry. The family obviously prefers–and chose–to identify racially as white. Moon’s father was listed as “black” on the U.S. Census in 1900. On the next one in 1910, the Landrieu family officially changed to “white.” Mitch and Mary’s grandfather changed the family racial identity from black to white.

This info has been rumored around New Orleans for generations. Then about a year ago, flyers–identical to Take Em Down flyers for the activists’ targeted monuments–popped up on the internet and around town labeling Mitch a white supremacist. Huh? But think about it: Mitch prefers that people think he is white, not black. This is a clear indication, from a person who always works an angle, that Mitch thinks it’s more important to be white than black. It’s the very definition of white supremacy. Plus, while in the Louisiana legislature he voted in support of Confederate flag license plates.

Mitch should embrace his heritage–hiding it proves that he prefers his white ancestry more than his black ancestry. Mitch Landrieu is a white supremacist.

The Landrieu’s hidden ancestry puts the removal of historic monuments in perspective. The Mayor who ignores his past wants to whitewash the city’s past too.

Now to the one he thinks he escaped. Mitch Landrieu likes to operate in the dark and it brings to mind an old rumor that has stayed just below the surface for years.

The rumor claimed that the Mayor had an active affair with a member of his staff who dealt with the press.  It spread by whisper in the summer of 2011. Reporters throughout the city all heard. As the rumors spread, the situation became complicated.  As a press flack for her lover and boss, she had to face reporters. Or not. She hid.

The rumors flamed on. One story got around that Mitch went on a date at a restaurant with his concubine, when his wife walked in. Oops.

The affair story popped up here and there, then it seemed to be hushed. Mitch is a master manipulator and bullies the press.  But it resurfaced with claims that Mitch Landrieu had an illegitimate child with his girlfriend. Similarly to allegations against David Vitter, the bastard was put up for adoption.

When the First Lady heard, she dropped the ultimatum: the girlfriend must go. The Mayor did not ship his PR girl far, she landed at another job in 2013 that conveniently seems like political placement. The rumors also went that the Mayor was kicked out of his own house. But don’t cry over the torn-apart-lovers, Mitch and his girlfriend can still interact regularly and below the radar as she is on the Tricentennial Committee.

Is this all true? It’s more true than Mitch Landrieu saying Robert E. Lee never stepped foot in New Orleans.

Note that a Democrat who has rampant rumors known and repeated widely by reporters feels little pressure, while a Republican like Vitter came under an onslaught of questions and allegations.

If Mitch thinks his night-time activities won’t be scrutinized, he and his wife are in for a rude awakening.

Mitch is a strange guy. Before debates and speeches, Mitch pumps himself up mentally by talking to himself, saying things such as, “You can do it, Mitch!” He can continue to pep himself up, but really, by presenting a facade to the public, Mitch has “done it” to himself.

Answer for your history, Mitch. Take responsibility for “life decisions.” Step out of the shadows in to the light, the national stage is a bright one!