Author Robert Mann (left) on a State Police helicopter with the late Gov. Kathleen Blanco and journalist Tyler Bridges in 2004. As the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, an excerpt from Robert Mannâs new memoir, âBackrooms and Bayous: My Life in Louisiana Politics,â looks at how the late governor handled the crisis. (Courtesy of Robert Mann)
News
August 23, 2021
Kathleen Blanco, ‘Dealt a bad hand, and did the best she could’
Governor Kathleen Blanco’s administration had two periods. There was pre- Katrina, during which she devoted herself, among other things, to creating jobs and reforming education and juvenile justice. Post-Katrina, there was nothing but recovering from Katrina and Rita. After the search-and-recovery phase, the work of restoring south Louisiana began.
