In this economy, you can blame gas prices, airline related shortages or inflation if you cancel a trip. For the mayor of New Orleans, it seems public pressure is behind the cancellation of her upcoming trip to Singapore. Mayor Cantrell was to be a speaker at the World Cities Summit on August 1. She told a local radio station that she’s remaining in New Orleans to “tend” to the members of the New Orleans Police Department. The Singapore trip would’ve been Mayor Cantrell’s third overseas trip in a little more than a month. Her two previous international appearances were in Switzerland and France to sign what has been described as sister city agreements.
Cantrell caught a good amount of criticism on social media about the timing of the international trips. Many citizens have expressed anger, fear, and frustration over the rise in violent crime and property crime. The ongoing manpower shortage at the NOPD seemed to hit a boiling point when an officer recently walked off his job mid shift. The now former officer claimed the number of officers on patrol is dangerously low for a city the size of New Orleans. Data on NOPD response times was also presented to New Orleans City Council members this week. It showed average wait times for emergency and non-emergency calls have jumped to 2.5 hours. The mayor’s critics say it’s highly questionable for her to leave for international appearances while concerns about public safety are seemingly growing every day. Those critics also say an unsavory result of the mayor’s response to all of this is to deflect blame. On the Newell Normand Show Friday, Newell said Cantrell is out of touch with her blaming of media and even the lack of public support. Newell said the problem of a lack of officers within the NOPD is not a new phenomenon, nor is the reporting surrounding it. Newell said Cantrell needs to focus on “priority issues” instead of seeking out people to blame.
Related
“And stop trying to blame everyone. In your first four years of your
administration, it was because you’re a woman. What is the reason now? Please explain it to all of us as to why you believe it’s not important to tell this story?” Newell asks more pointed questions, including why Cantrell would feel “at risk” that she would have to require security in Switzerland. As Newell asserted, it’s the citizens of New Orleans who feel at risk. Listen to more of his take:
Related
Related
