Forward New Orleans, a broad coalition of civic, neighborhood and business organizations, says most candidates for New Orleans’ City Council support its seven-issue platform which includes reform mandates on crime, blight, city finance, economic development, city services and infrastructure, city contracting and public education.

Over the past few weeks, City Council candidates were given the opportunity to review and discuss Forward New Orleans with members of the coalition. Candidates were then asked to commit, in writing, to the measures outlined in each platform.

All candidates who participated in the interviews have now responded to Forward New Orleans’ request for commitment.

Forward New Orleans has created a “scorecard” that will enable voters to easily assess each candidate’s position on a particular issue. The scorecard showing the responses of each candidate can be viewed at forwardneworleans.com.

Gregory Rusovich, chairman of the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region and spokesperson for Forward New Orleans, said: “With the majority support of the candidates for these reform principles, the citizens should have a real sense of optimism about the opportunity for real change after these elections.”

GNO, Inc., the regional economic development alliance, has published its 2009 Year in Review.

GNO, Inc.’s goal is to generate wealth and improve the quality of life in the New Orleans region. Follow this link to view the 2009 Year in review.

Some of the organization’s 2009 highlights include:

• 829 jobs secured for the region, both new and retained, with a combined economic value in excess of $25 million
• Success in the legislative session, including passage of a best-in-class 35% digital media tax credit and the exclusion of a capital gains tax
• Establishing the first post-Katrina international flight for Louis Armstrong International Airport to Mexico City and on-going service to Honduras
• Opening of the I.P. (Intellectual Property) Building in New Orleans’ warehouse district in partnership with Idea Village. The converted office now serves as an entrepreneurial hub for creative and digital media companies, and has grown to ten tenants
• Earned over 200 media appearances, including articles in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, and Entrepreneur Magazine

“The progress of 2009 is not only an encouraging harbinger of our potential for the future, but also a testament to the unprecedented cooperation between state, regional and parish-level partners for economic development,” says GNO, Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht.