The Hard Rock Hotel collapse and the investigations that began thereafter have exposed corrupt, undisciplined and improperly certified inspectors in the Department of Safety and Permits. Three people are dead, and countless others have had their businesses and lives turned upside down. Is the city doing enough to ensure the safety of other projects being built?Newell invited Clancy Dubos into the studio Thursday morning to get his insight. Dubos is the Political Editor & Columnist for Gambit Weekly and is a WWL-TV Political Analyst.
“There is so much uncertainty, so much indecision about how all this is playing out for the Mayor,” Newell began. “Your thoughts?”“I think the Mayor deserves a little bit of slack,” Dubos said. “She did say from the get-go, we have to let OSHA do their job. We all want this eyesore torn down - it’s a harsh reminder to the victims’ families, those who were injured, and businesses around them. But we have to let OSHA do their job. I'm not an engineer, but it's hard for me to imagine how they could appropriately investigate if the building was taken down right away. When there’s a fire and the arson investigator goes out, they have to go through the remains. They don’t take down the building right away, they have to look at what’s there. It was said back in November, OSHA’s investigation would take until about April. If there was any mistake made at City Hall, it was promising to demolish it in March. The Mayor may have over-promised.”“I think a lot of what is frustrating people is the sideshow,” Newell continued. “Telling the City Council they don’t have oversight, telling the City Council they’re going to be an impediment to the investigation but a Philadelphia law firm isn’t. Then you have the Inspector General embracing her in regard to the Council but staying silent on the law firm, then comes out and says that’s going to be an impediment as well!”“And frankly, the Council is not investigating the cause of it,” Dubos said. “The Council’s action was totally proper. The Mayor reacted too soon and didn’t get enough information. The Council is saying, we’re going to be very methodical about this and looking at what can be done in the future. They’re not looking to point fingers. We have to wait for OSHA to tell us what happened, why, and how, and then there will be lots of lawsuits and that will take a while. The Council is saying, is there anything we can do? Can we tighten up security or inspections?”“Does it surprise you that this friction between the Mayor and the Council has developed so early in her administration, given that she is a former member of the Council?” Newell asked.“I’m never surprised at friction amongst Councilmembers, or between the Council and the Chief Executive,” Dubos answered. “You had it with Yenni and the Council, John Young and the Council… Landrieu had a pretty good run, he managed his expectations and was very careful to manage his relationship with the Council well… Some independence is a good thing on its face. You have to look at each issue individually and ask if someone is just grandstanding.”
“I’ve been surprised because this is not a Council that plays the fool,” Newell continued. “They’re very measured in their response and in their approach to things, there’s a high level of professionalism in the way they approach things. They’ve maintained a sound decorum. I don’t think they’re out there looking for political chits and throwing darts at the Mayor.”
