Jay Batt to announce his District A City Council candidacy today
by Frank Donze - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Jay Batt will make it official today when he enters the race for the District A City Council seat he lost in 2006. Batt, a Republican businessman who was ousted by political newcomer Shelley Midura, has made clear from the moment of his defeat that he wanted his old job back. After months of behind-the-scenes planning, he will announce his candidacy this morning at the casino building in City Park. Midura, a Democrat who came out of nowhere to break the Republican Party's 26-year hold on the seat, said in July that she will not seek re-election. Her exit made Batt, who chairs the Orleans Parish Republican Party's Executive Committee, the early front-runner. .