The New Orleans City Council voted Thursday to put the mayor's Pontalba apartment up for rent to the general public. The 4-2 vote directs the French Market Corporation to rent it out at market price. That is not a veto-proof majority, and NOLA.com reports Mayor LaToya Cantrell plans to veto the council's action.
It is the latest in the back and forth over Mayor LaToya Cantrell's continuing apparent personal use of the apartment.
Councilmember Eugene Green argued the apartment should remain for use by future mayors of New Orleans.
"It's an asset that's been made available to previous mayors, and the decision that we make today assumes that all future mayors need to be bound by restricted access to this asset, which I think can be use and has been used in a productive manor," Green argues.
Council president J.P. Morrell argued it doesn't matter who the mayor is; the mayor does not need a Pontalba apartment to entertain dignitaries.
"We have a place to entertain dignitaries. It's called Gallier Hall," said Morrell. "So if you want to entertain dignitaries, when we celebrate the beginning of King's Day or Mardi Gras, we got to Gallier Hall. That is a public space, a large space that is available that both the council and the mayor use to celebrate dignitaries that visit the city."
Earlier this year, the New Orleans Office of Inspector General said allowing the mayor free use of the apartment may violate the city charter as well as the state constitution. The OIG determined the city could make as much as $41,000 a year from renting the unit.
The vote was 4-2, with councilmembers Green and Oliver Thomas the two nays. Councilmember Freddie King was absent.
New Orleans City Council
