A crowd estimated between 100-200 attended a "peaceful protest" of Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn's ban on Nike products at Kenner Booster Clubs.
Monday afternoon, Mayor Zahn issued a statement in an attempt to "clarify" the Nike controversy. Instead, the Mayor just made the waters even murkier.
"Private, for-profit companies have every right to advertise how they wish, even if it means using advertising to promote corporate political beliefs. Individuals also have every right to support or oppose any company or brand for any reason. Those freedoms should never be lost.
I applaud Nike's message of inclusion and encouragement for everyone to be their best and dream big. But I also recognize that Nike, in its zeal to sell shoes, chose to promote and sell a political message.
In Kenner, like every city, our citizens and our taxpayers cover a wide spectrum of political philosophies and agendas. We must respect all of those agendas and philosophies. So, when a company uses its advertising as its own political megaphone, government should be fair to all of its people and not allow taxpayer dollars to be used to help that company push its own political agenda.
My decision is only to protect taxpayer dollars from being used in a political campaign. Some have asked if people will be allowed to wear Nike apparel on city playgrounds. The answer to that is...of course.
My internal memo draws the line on letting companies profit from taxpayers by espousing political beliefs. My decision disallowing Nike from profiting from our taxpayers while they are using their powerful voice as a political tool is my message. This government will not let taxpayer dollars be used to promote a company's or individual's political position, platform or principle. That's my position as a matter of fairness to all."
Reaction to Zahn's statements have been swift and largely negative.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who has been friendly towards Zahn, issued a statement:
"As I have emphasized repeatedly since taking office, I believe in the values the people of New Orleans stand for - being inclusive, being accepting and supportive of all our people, committing to social justice, and being intentional about how we make decisions.
The mandate handed down by Kenner's Mayor is out of step with those values, and not reflective of the way our city does business.
Although the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is located in Kenner, it is owned and governed by the City of New Orleans. Let me assure you that our airport will continue to uphold our city's values."
as long
Nothing like rubbing salt in the wound by bringing up the fact that Armstrong Airport has long used, and abused, the City of Kenner and the people of Kenner.
And, how many murders has New Orleans had this year?
Jefferson Parish Councilman Mark Spears, who while residing on the West Bank, represents a portion of Kenner and has long been an ally of Zahn and was a sponsor of Kennner's recent Freedom Fest, attended the protest.
"It's a shame that we're here for this," Spears said. "These policies are illegal."
No City of Kenner elected officials attended the protest but several New Orleans Saints players did.
Kenner District 1 Councilman Gregory Carroll, who ran against Zahn for Mayor during the last election cycle, has been the only vocal critic on the Kenner City Council of Zahn's Nike ban.
Mayor Zahn, like everyone, is entitled to their own personal feelings regarding Nike and their glorification of Colin Kaepernick, a man that truly is not worth glorifying in my opinion. But, he is the Mayor and shouldn't allow his personal opinions to get in the way of governing.
As the Mayor himself pointed out, the City of Kenner is diverse and, on a polarizing, racially-charged issue like Nike and Kaepernick, opinions are diverse as well.
And volatile.
Kenner faces many problems including Mayor Cantrell's Airport and the decline of Kenner Recreation, both of which Mayor Zahn inherited.
But, if the Mayor would have said, "My personal feeling is that Nike should be banned from Kenner Recreation and Booster Clubs. Unfortunately, I let my personal feelings about Nike and Colin Kaepernick interfere with governing the City of Kenner. That won't happen again," this issue would have been over.
Unfortunately, Mayor Zahn's new statement just made things worse - for him and Kenner.
While the Mayor makes a point regarding funding Nike's political motives, because he represents the Government and not a Private Business, his message is invalid.
Politics is ruled by companies using political campaign contributions to exact, or extort, tax payer dollars.
As a Jefferson Parish Councilman, Mayor Zahn gave out Millions in No-Bid Contracts to companies that contributed hundreds of thousands to his campaigns. Yes, engineering contracts are allowed to be "No-Bid", but they shouldn't be. All contracts from certified bidders, should be bid.
So, while the Mayor bemoans Nike using it's money to further it's political message, doesn't the same hold true for campaign contributors? They use their money to further their political influence.
When it was announced that Mayor Zahn would be issuing a second statement regarding the Nike-Kaepernick controversy, many expected a Mea Culpa so that Kenner could heal and move forward.
Sadly, we didn't get that and Kenner is even more polarized than yesterday.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring for Kenner.
Now, about Armstrong International Airport...
