Mayor LaToya Cantrell celebrated the drop in violent crime in New Orleans during her State of the City speech on Wednesday. However, what the mayor didn't say is catching the attention of pundits and other city leaders.
"She didn't really talk about the challenges," political analyst Clancy DuBos told WWL's Dave Cohen. "At some point, you really need to address these things and attack them and let people know that you feel it."
DuBos noted that Mayor Cantrell failed to discuss the NOPD's recruiting and retention problems, persistent property crimes and crimes against persons in the French Quarter and the Central Business District, or the federal consent decree governing the NOPD. Councilman Joe Giarusso told Cohen that he understands why the Mayor is touting the good news, but he agrees with DuBos that the mayor should have addressed other challenges that directly impact New Orleaneans.
"They would like to see things done more quickly, more efficiently: lights being changed more quickly, having potholes taken care of, having their catch basins cleaned," Giarusso said. "What we have to do is look critically--not personally, but critically--at what is being accomplished and things that we can do better on."
Giarusso and DuBos also agree that addressing those challenges will be politically tricky.
"We have to balance how the public feels about the services being delivered," Giarusso said.
"It's difficult to strike the right note and the right balance between touting the progress and acknowledging what we have to do," DuBos said.
