NEW ORLEANS HAS A NEW MAYOR IN CHARGE!

THE FIRST WHITE MAYOR SINCE 1978!

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, son of a former mayor and brother of a U.S. senator, routed five major challengers in Saturday's mayoral primary, riding a sense of regret among voters who rejected him four years ago and extraordinary biracial support to claim an unprecedented first-round landslide victory. When he takes office May 6, Landrieu will become the city's first white chief executive since his father, Moon Landrieu, left the job in 1978. Early analysis shows that Mitch Landrieu's victory owed to widespread crossover voting by African-Americans, who make up two-thirds of the city's residents. Making his third bid for City Hall's top job, Landrieu picked up an astonishing 66 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff that appeared to be a near-certainty just two months ago. So definitive was his win that political pundits declared Landrieu the victor just a half-hour after the polls closed, with the first of his opponents conceding before 9 p.m. Finishing a distant second with 14 percent of the vote was management consultant Troy Henry, a first-time candidate who pumped about $500,000 of his own money into his bid. In an unusual and gracious move, Henry showed up at Landrieu's victory party to congratulate the mayor-elect, who welcomed his opponent on stage. The men shook hands, embraced and exchanged some private words before Landrieu raised Henry's hand in the air and asked the crowd for applause. Henry, who is black, had highlighted his credentials as a top corporate executive, and also sought to play up concerns in the African-American community that white politicians recently have won various local elective offices that had long been held by black officials.