New Orleans residents are seeking to push out Mayor LaToya Cantrell, accusing her of “quiet quitting” by failing to meet with her department heads for over a year.
The recall effort against Cantrell launched in August 2022, with a goal to gather 50,000 signatures by February 22.
Vice-chair organizer Ellen Carter insists they surpassed this goal. Carter worked in Cantrell’s office for three years and claims that the mayor stopped doing her job, with crime rates increasing and residents becoming fearful. New Orleans witnessed a 116 percent increase in homicides between 2019 and 2022.
In 2022, the city recorded 280 homicides, along with 480 shooting incidents, 541 robberies, and 279 carjackings.
Aside from crime, the upkeep of the historic city has diminished, with buildings having broken windows and potholes filling the streets. Cantrell’s lack of care for her city has left constituents in fear, with New Orleans almost being named the nation’s murder capital in 2022.
If the county registrar office verifies the 50,000 signatures as valid, a recall election will be triggered to allow voters to decide on whether to oust Cantrell.
Amid the recall effort, some residents fear retaliation for signing petitions to oust Cantrell.
A restaurant owner was issued a restraining order for allegedly violating his lease after his landlord warned him to cancel an event in support of recalling Cantrell.
Carter called Cantrell’s tactics fear-based, claiming, “They will take your job. They will take your livelihood.”
Cantrell has struggled to win the favor of her constituents and was recently filmed yelling and flipping the bird at riders on a Mardi Gras parade float.
The mayor was accused last month of having an ongoing adulterous affair with the former head of her police detail, who has since been suspended due to an investigation into irregularities relating to his pay.
Records reveal Cantrell has halted her regular responsibilities as mayor, including meetings with department heads that she hasn’t scheduled in over a year as of November. Cantrell’s office wasn’t immediately available for comment.
If the recall effort is successful, it would trigger a recall election allowing voters to decide whether to oust Cantrell.
»New Orleans residents seek to push out Mayor LaToya Cantrell«
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