I hate to move Baylen Brees down, but this really pisses me off.

Claude Mauberret, who made it to the runoff for the city assessor’s office, dropped out:

Claude Mauberret, a district assessor since 1994, will abandon his bid to become New Orleans’ first citywide assessor today, according to a source close to Mauberret.Mauberret’s exit, expected to be announced before noon, will mean that Erroll Williams — like Mauberret a longtime district assessor — will claim the new post, expected to be one of the city’s most powerful political jobs.

Mauberret spent his entire campaign attacking the reform candidate, Janis Lemle, with flyers  unfairly associating her (via a campaign aide) to Dollar Bill Jefferson.   He also used the “scary for white people” picture of her with dreadlocks as opposed to her official portrait.   At first he denied association with these shitty flyers, but the second round that came had his name on them.  He just barely edged her out of the race to get into the primary.

And then he dropped out, handing the race to his buddy Errol Williams.  Thanks a lot, dickhead.  Thanks for ensuring more of the same in New Orleans.

I suppose that we were given our chance to make a change in the assessor’s office during the race and we squandered it.  But Mauberret’s dropping out just makes it feel like the fix was in.