I was just going by what we have learned to be factual during and since Katrina . I hadn't even heard of him before that.
Keep in mind that the media hasn't been exactly truthful in their reporting. It's done as much damage to the state as the actual storm damage. Louisiana isn't the only state with these problems despite what the media has been portraying.
The state has been becoming more conservative in the last few years however NOLA was pretty much the lone bastion of liberal democratic control. Take a look at any major city and basically you will find similar problems. The storm revealed an ugly weak spot in the nation and that is the inner cities.