When Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn announced at the budget meeting that he was bringing Economic Development in-house and discontinuing Kenner's annual $75k stipend to JEDCO, I was cautiously optimistic. After all, I have long decried the fact that Kenner was paying JEDCO anything for doing what it should be doing for free.
Well, as with his friend and mentor, Jefferson Parish's Sexual Predator-In-Chief Mike Yenni, nothing with Ben Zahn is ever as it seems.
Instead of searching for someone with a true background in Economic Development that could help Kenner attract, recruit and retain businesses and jobs for this newly created position, Zahn is hiring a political operative with strong ties to Zahn (and Yenni's) campaign manager, Greg Buisson.
John Tobler, who has also worked for Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta (also a Buisson client that is said to be inline for a position in the Trump Administration), and is involved in several of the faux endorsement groups like the Greater New Orleans Republicans (GNOR) that routinely rubberstamp Buisson clients, will be hired as a "Mayoral Assistant" responsible for Economic Development.
Skrmetta's possible ascension to Washington would result in Tobler being unemployed. So, in rides Ben Zahn with a newly-created position for an unqualified Buisson political lackey at Kenner taxpayers expense.
Tobler will be named a "Mayoral Assistant" so Zahn can continue to disrespect the people of Kenner and circumvent the spirit of the City Charter which requires all Directors, but not all non classified employees, to be Kenner residents.
This is truly semantics by Zahn as the spirit and intent of the residency rule approved by Kenner voters was to mandate that ALL non classified employees (political appointees who are the highest paid employees in the City), are Kenner residents.
Tobler has ZERO Economic Development experience and will be paid $55k annually plus benefits. He will be Zahn's 5th Mayoral Assistant, surpassing the inflated total of Yenni.
Tobler will receive little resistance from the Kenner City Council since several of them including Mike Sigur, Lenny Cline and Dominick Impastato are also Buisson clients.
Tobler's hiring is yet another reason why Zahn is allowing a group of 12 disgruntled political appointees to sue the City to overturn the 2012 Charter Change regarding political activity by non classified employees.
A City of Kenner employee who asked not to be identified said, "Tobler will be coordinating non classified employees as they work on Zahn's re-election campaign and on other campaigns."
It is rumored that the self-appointed "Ringleader" in the group of 12 malcontents suing the City to overturn the political ban, Stephen Petit, will run for the District 3 Council seat currently held by Keith Reynaud.
Petit spent over 20 minutes at the last Council meeting personally attacking Reynaud and the Councilman's wife.
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