I remember meeting Karen Gadbois shortly after the first post-Katrina Jazz Fest. From the day we first met I was impressed with both her fire and her sincerity. In the years since then I have watched her efforts continually escalate as she has become one of the true paladins of our fair city.

Do blogs count? Do they have any real effect? The Gambit thinks so, and have named Karen “New Orleanian of the Year.” I cannot think of a better choice.

From “Home Checker: Karen Gadbois’ crusade to save the city’s architectural heritage brought down a public program riddled with problems,” by David Winkler-Schmit:

For Karen Gadbois, the city’s recovery and her own have become inextricably linked, and she has fought hard for both. On New Year’s Eve 2005, Gadbois finished her final chemo treatment for breast cancer and flew from Austin, Texas, to New Orleans, so she could be here for the last day of the tragic year.

That night she sat on the porch of her raised, side-hall shotgun house in northwest Carrollton with a friend and her husband. Newly installed streetlights illuminated the neighborhood wasteland of flooded homes, and Gadbois’ pile of ruined artwork and other possessions sat on the front curb. Drinking wine, Gadbois began throwing rocks at the bright, invasive lights.

“And I was really happy,” Gadbois says. “I was so happy to be back.”

Gadbois is still happy, but she isn’t content. She has battled against those, including Mayor Ray Nagin and other bureaucrats, who have attempted in the name of progress to destroy and squander our city’s heritage. With little more than a digital camera, a computer, a blog and her green Honda Element, this indefatigable 53-year-old mom has shown that it is the average citizen — not government — that’s leading New Orleans’ recovery.

By the time Gadbois first heard about the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership (NOAH) program in early 2008, the Boston, Mass., native had been taking on City Hall to save homes from demolition for more than two years. Nevertheless, she initially was optimistic about the program because she thought the city finally was making a gesture to help people get back into their homes by creating a program that was supposed to gut and board houses for poor and elderly homeowners.

“A number of people were questioning why we were spending millions of dollars gutting and boarding homes when there were volunteer groups,” Gadbois says. “It didn’t make sense in terms of using government, but it could be used to leverage volunteer work to get people back in homes.”

And thus began the complicated trail of conflicting information that led to federal involvement, with many exciting stops along the way. You see blogging can be really effective when you couple it with sheer ability to dig up info. Anybody can rant, but solid research and presentation of the facts trumps just about everything else in the long run.

One thing leads to another and the press (TV) gets involved. Then Mayor Nagin accuses Karen of “hurting the recovery,” and the culmination?

Besides listing houses on blocks that don’t exist in the city, and charging the city for work done by volunteer groups, NOAH had used a list of contractors that included Cedric Smith, the mayor’s brother-in-law, and Trellis Smith, a business partner of former NOAH director Stacey Jackson. More allegations came forward — Jackson had business relationships with other NOAH contractors — the City Council held hearings, NOAH closed its offices and a federal investigation was launched. And it was Gadbois who had first spotted NOAH’s leaky ship, but all Nagin would say at the time was, “I love that we have professional investigators involved now.”

What he didn’t know, or refused to believe, was that he had been dealing with a professional investigator all along.

With her cancer in remission in 2006, Gadbois became involved with her neighborhood organization, Northwest Carrollton Civic Association (NWCCA). The group argued that a proposed Walgreens drugstore at the intersection of Claiborne Avenue and Carrollton Avenue broke zoning laws. Refusing to budge, NWCCA pushed City Councilwoman Shelley Midura to broker a plan for the new Walgreens that conformed to zoning regulations and included space for a much-needed supermarket.

She was getting the Northwest Carrollton blog up and running when we first met. I think we got along well from the outset due to the passion of our views about the city, and I have been thrilled to see her act as a spotlight, shining light into the dark recesses of government and commerce. Transparency is important.

Get on over to The Gambit and read the article. This is why we blog.