Assessor Race Likely To Involve Big Bucks
by Frank Donze - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

When voters head to the polls a little more than a year from now to make a historic change in how property tax assessments are handled in New Orleans, they can count on seeing some familiar names on the ballot.

In addition to races for mayor and City Council, the Feb. 6, 2010, ballot will feature the first-ever contest for a single tax assessor in a city that has been electing seven of them since the mid-1800s. No other parish in Louisiana has more than one assessor.

At this point, four of the city's seven current district assessors -- Tom Arnold, Claude Mauberret, Darren Mire and Erroll Williams -- are contemplating a run for the citywide position, which could emerge as one of the most powerful political jobs in the region.

While no other candidates have surfaced yet, some backers of the amendment to the state Constitution that paved the way for a single assessor would like to find an "outsider" to run.

However the field of candidates shapes up, the race is likely to be costly.