The Times Picayune profiled both the Libertarian candidate Gregory Kahn and Green Party candidate Malik Rahim today, referring to them as “long shots” in the Dec 6 election for the Louisiana 2nd Congressional District.
On Rahim, they write:
A longtime housing and prisoner-rights advocate, Rahim decided to run for Congress five days after Hurricane Katrina, when he realized the region’s most critical recovery issues would be handled at the federal level.
But Rahim took a pass on running for the 2nd District seat in 2006, he said, because he was fighting an ultimately failing battle to halt the eviction of about 100 families from a low-rent apartment complex in Algiers. The effort grew out of Common Ground Relief, the Lower 9th Ward aid organization Rahim founded after the flood.
Like other challengers, Rahim said Jefferson has not been an effective representative. “You can’t see a park, you can’t see a school, you can’t see a program except for those that are well-connected,” he said.
If elected, Rahim said he would ensure that the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires workers on public projects to be paid prevailing wages, is observed on all recovery projects. He also vowed to make sure local, minority-owned companies get a fair shot at contracts associated with the federal city project and the rebuilding of public housing complexes.
To help all residents return to New Orleans, Rahim said he would push federally regulated banks to meet the credit needs of low-income residents.
Despite last week’s announcement of a plan to build two new hospitals in downtown New Orleans, Rahim said he would push President-elect Barack Obama to reopen Charity Hospital, an option he said would be 20 percent cheaper than the current plan.
“I don’t believe it’s a done deal,” he said of shutting down Charity for good.
Nodding to his Green Party ideology, Rahim vowed to push the Army Corps of Engineers to preserve wetlands and waterways as it erects flood-control infrastructure.
“Regardless of what civil rights we achieve,” he said, “if we cannot breathe this air and drink this water, we all are doomed.”
