Joseph Canizaro

Joseph Canizaro was just putting the finishing touches on his new mansion west of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck. More than four years in the making, the extravagant beaux-arts palace had 12-foot-high ceilings, a private chapel (he's a devout Roman Catholic) and massive walls devoted to his collection of old-masters art. The house took on nearly two feet of water during the storm and suffered devastating damage to its ground floor. But for now, Canizaro has set aside that reconstruction project to focus on a more monumental one: rebuilding the city as a whole. A real-estate and banking mogul with close ties to the Bush administration, Canizaro, 68, is arguably the most powerful person on Mayor Ray Nagin's 17-member rebuilding commission.

On Jan. 9, the commission plans to issue its blueprint for New Orleans's revival, addressing everything from flood protection to the city's dysfunctional school system. Canizaro, whose hard-charging style hasn't always earned him friends, has infuriated some community leaders by suggesting that some of the city's lowest-lying neighborhoods--which are often poor and black--may need to be forsaken to replenish protective wetlands. "If we're going to be successful," he says, "we're going to have to make some tough decisions."

A longtime contributor to the Bush family and the GOP, Canizaro raised at least $200,000 for the president's 2004 re-election campaign. He has met at least twice since Katrina with the president, who he says has "a serious interest in our being successful in bringing New Orleans back." If anyone can fight for the city's future, it's Canizaro, who narrowly avoided bankruptcy in the 1980s through sheer force of will. New Orleans may end up smaller, he says, but its soul will remain intact. "The culture of our community is what has made it successful," he says. "Our music, our food, our Mardi Gras, our friendliness... I don't think that will go away at all." At least not if he has anything to say about it.

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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