Watchdogs chasing their own tails

One thing's for sure: New Orleans City Council members running for re-election won't be bragging about the city inspector general office.

Not now.

Getting the office established was once considered the most significant legislative accomplishment of this City Council. But now, those members seeking re-election would be wise to keep their involvement off their push cards.

What they've created has become a mess. An ongoing source of embarrassment for the city.

Those who weren't already suspicious of the office had reason to become skeptics in July when Interim Inspector General Leonard Odom announced his plans to name a new police monitor without the required input from the selection committee.

It looked like the fix was in and that Odom might be trying to promote Neely Moody, a deputy in the office, to the police monitor position. The public cried out. How could the inspector general's office be so dismissive of the rules? How could an office created to restore public confidence in city government be so disrespectful of the public's desire to see a hiring process be conducted above board?

So, after a brief delay and obligatory input from the selection committee, Odom promoted -- who else? -- Neely Moody to the position.

One observer of the process wondered why Odom -- who carried the word "interim" in his title -- was in such a rush to name a police monitor when that person would ultimately not be reporting to Odom but to Odom's successor.

You'll remember that on Aug. 9, this column offered a caveat: "Moody might be a fine man. . . . But if the community isn't convinced the selection process was fair and transparent" he won't be respected.

Since then it's become more difficult to give Moody -- or the whole inspector general operation -- the benefit of the doubt. Odom, who has been dismissed, was on his way out the door when he ordered two employees to file a report to the state that claims the whole IG office needs to be investigated. The new inspector general Edouard Quatrevaux has announced he's delaying his start by a month and Moody has quit, out of apparent anger that he wasn't immediately promoted to another position in the office....