The woe-is-me bus was firing on all cylinders last week as Cantrell attempted to define her legacy.
One of her quotes at an Essence Fest panel was picked up by the local press. In case you missed it, the mayor said, “You applaud me for being the first woman mayor in New Orleans. Thank you for that. But it's about the support as you move through. Because I'm telling you. It goes from celebration to crucifixion real fast.”
I provide a more robust version of her statement in the audio from today's show, which offers a bit more context. But when I heard it, the first question that came to mind was this: Can you define for me, mayor, even slightly, what it is you mean by crucifixion?
I'd truly love to hear her explain this metaphor to the folks who pay her salary. But she didn't care to offer insight into what she meant.
I get it’s a strategic use of language as she begins to construct her mayoral narrative. She's choosing to define her 8 years as a time stymied by people's hatred for her identity, rather than one that’s rooted in a long, over-documented history of ineffectiveness, ineptitude, and inefficiency.
However, while I may disagree with her wording, I agree with the mayor on her sentiment: In politics, it can go from celebration to crucifixion, real, real fast. What we disagree on, though, are the reasons why things went downhill.
The mayor's identity never changed. That part was celebrated throughout her campaign and into her administration; it's celebrated now, and nobody takes issue with that.
What changed was that the people she convinced to vote for her came to disapprove of her as an executive, as an administrator, and as a leader. She won with 65% of the vote, but her approval rating has sunk to 27%.
Why? Take this past week, for example.
Today, Councilmember Joe Giarusso joined WWL and Tommy Tucker to explain a report that shows Mayor Cantrell is siding with the heirs of the Wisner Trust, a choice that further cripples the city's financial position. Once upon a time, she fought to continue to expand the city's share of the Wisner Trust. Now, in a move that's baffled city council, she's appealing a ruling that would secure more of that money in city coffers.
“The piece that puzzles us (City Council) the most is that at the beginning of the year, the administration claimed to be in the middle of a financial crisis,” Giarrusso explains. “Then they back off, saying there is no fictional crisis but then say, ‘By the way, we’ve accrued a $70 million (deficit) in overtime pay, but we’ll figure out how to pay it.’"
The city is in dire financial straits. The Wisner Trust is a reliable source of income, generating upwards of $10 million per year. Yet, Cantrell appealed the ruling that would grant the city exclusive rights to this money.
The outcry and bafflement over this decision have nothing to do with identity. It's purely related to the quality of governance.
That's one example. From here, you can just work in reverse and ask question after question about how we got to where we are.
Why has the city failed to pay lifeguards at public pools on time for two years in a row? Why has there been such an embarrassing failure to pay vendors on time? Why are we cutting quarterly allocations for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s office—and maybe even the DA’s office—something that undermines public safety? Why can't we make progress on removing blight? Why does it take us six, seven, or eight months to get broken traffic signals up and running? Why did it take citizen involvement and investment to get street lights in the French Quarter fixed? Why do road repairs take an average of 756 days, nearly twice as long as the contractual obligation, forcing people to park blocks away from their homes and unable to use their driveways for months on end?
These are the questions we want answered. And if asking them is the equivalent of a crucifixion, then, Mayor Cantrell, you’re 100% right. That's exactly what we've done.
And these questions simply deal with the administration’s direct failure to uphold basic duties. They have nothing to say about more complicated issues. For example, what about the shameful mismanagement of the $1.7 billion FEMA dollars; do we have plans to address that? What about the manipulation and tampering in NOPD promotions? What about your travel bug? Are you ever going to give us some bullet points on how the conference you jet off for benefits the working-class folks of this city? What about accusations of favoritism in your dealings with the French Quarter sanitation contract?
I’m not here to deny that Mayor Cantrell was elected and reelected with strong support. I’m not here to deny the fact that she has done good things. She has. But they've always been the exception.
What I am here to say is that Cantrell’s tenure as mayor is in its twilight. As such, we can’t fail to reflect on where things went wrong and remember that as we go about choosing our next mayor.
The folks of this city both deserve and need someone who has a mindset and track record of consistency, strength, and efficiency. We can’t afford someone who occasionally cares. We can’t afford to elect someone who refuses to take personal accountability and refuses to communicate with the public.
So, as we head into election season, remember that there’s a difference between a quality campaigner and a quality executive. There’s going to be a lot of promises thrown around, but what we need right now isn't empty promises and grandiose language. We need someone who understands the job, understands this city and its residents, and someone who'll work like hell to do the basics right.