With each passing press conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell becomes an enigma. She addresses the media on the latest issue that seems to be interrupting her running of the city, when it comes time to ask questions, answers are focused on her and her ability to run the city. Sometimes comments are punctuated with declarations of defiance. The Mayor’s refusal to pay back the city her first class air travel and European junkets for example. WWL approached political analyst Ed Chervenak for comment on what seems to be going on with the Mayor.
“You get the sense that the administration is kind of checked out, I don’t know if they’re tired or exhausted, or incompetent, I don’t know.
What will Cantrell say next? The answer is only as far as the next press conference. Chervenak had this take on the Mayor’s ‘shoot from the hip’ response:
“I wouldn’t say that she’s disinterested, I think she’s struggling to run the city, you know, I think she’s facing a lot of head-wind. That may be limiting her ability to [appear in touch] with the city. She’s consumed by the crime issue, that’s the number one issue, everything else seems to be secondary.”
An effort to recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell is underway. It’s a very serious movement. But given the mayor’s silence on the recall and her brash statements justifying first class travel expenditures and refusal to reimburse the city for them are some of the reasons the recall was launched in the first place. WWL talked with political analyst Ed Chervenak about what could be on the mind of the Mayor.
“You know, she could basically waiting everyone else out,” Chervenak says. “I think that City Hall doesn’t look at the recall as a serious effort. In their minds there’s really nothing to worry about.”
“It sounds more like the administration is playing defense more than anything else,” Chervenak says. “It’s another indication of how dysfunctional our politics are in the city right now. You know, with the city council threatening to dock the Mayor $30,000. If you want to get someone’s attention, if you reach into their pocket book, you’re going to get their attention.”