New Orleans candidate uses Disney "New Orleans" photo backdrop

Last year, it was NJ Republican Bret Schundler who used a doctored photo for his campaign website.

Now, it's New Orleans mayoral candidate Kimberly Williamson Butler. It seems that Butler used a photo of Disney's faux "New Orleans Square" as the backdrop for her campaign -- to supposedly illustrate New Orleans itself.

From the Times-Picayune:

On her campaign-for-mayor Web site, a picture of embattled Clerk of Criminal Court Kimberly Williamson Butler shows her smiling broadly, standing against a French Quarter backdrop of pastel buildings and ornate ironwork.

The scene brings to mind a vision of a rebuilt New Orleans, where the trash man comes every day and the streets are all clean. Too clean.

Of course, it's a legal problem:

A Disney public relations official confirmed Friday that the picture comes from the theme park's "New Orleans Square," and the company had been made aware of the unauthorized use of the image. "We've referred this to our legal department," said the official, who did not give his name, referring further questions to a Disney lawyer who could not be reached.

But, it's also a political problem:

The obvious irony in the bizarre motif is that "Disneyland" has become a pejorative in post-Katrina New Orleans, used by people who fear developers and the tourist industry will turn the city into a phony, Hollywoodesque facade of its rich architecture and culture. Native son Wynton Marsalis put it this way, back in February: "We want our city. And we don't want it to come back like no Disneyland for adults."

Read the rest of the Times-Picayune story. Visit ElectKimberly.com to see for yourself.

Elsewhere:
Jim Hill Media: Should they hold the victory party at the Blue Bayou?
World According to Carl: including wide-angle shot to show photo source
Boing Boing: photos of Kimberly running for mayor - all over the world