16 Facts About Ed Blakely

Ed Blakely is known primarily for having been executive director of Recovery Management for the City of New Orleans.

In 1998, Ed Blakely ran to succeed Harris as mayor of Oakland and finished the election in a very distant second-place behind Jerry Brown.

Ed Blakely alleged, in a speech in Sydney, that the actual population of New Orleans pre-Katrina was known to be slightly lower than the official number reported by the US Census Bureau.

Ed Blakely suggested this was not unusual since many cities need federal block grants based on population for federal grants.

Ed Blakely admits perhaps some of his early promises about a speedy recovery were overblown.

In October 2009, Ed Blakely again made controversial statements about the New Orleans recovery and his role in it.

On May 6,2009, Ed Blakely announced his intention to resign from his position as "Recovery Czar" in New Orleans effective 2009 July 1 and to return to Australia.

Ed Blakely recommended focusing the city's biomedical industry on tropical diseases and working on New Orleans East to rebuild Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital and to "let people know we're in the technology business" by making the Michoud Assembly Facility a tourist destination.

Shortly before his departure from New Orleans, Ed Blakely was asked whether he would return if the city suffers a future disaster.

When his role in New Orleans ended in 2009, Ed Blakely returned to an appointment at Australia's University of Sydney.

Ed Blakely completed a master's degree in law from Northwestern University in Chicago in 2018.

Ed Blakely is currently a Justice of the Peace in New South Wales as well as a class B member member of the New South Wales Bar.

Ed Blakely is a consultant working on Affordable and Indigenous housing in Australia and a member of the OECD panel on Economic Development and employment.

Ed Blakely is a regular visiting professor in Climate change and Disaster Management at the University of Venice, Italy.

Ed Blakely is an active qualified field referee in the senior and youth divisions US Football In Australia.

Ed Blakely is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.