What do people in New Orleans think of Mayor LaToya Cantrell? New reports from the New Orleans Crime Coalition found that her approval rating dropped by 14% compared to last year.
These survey reports also covered interim New Orleans Police Department Chief Michelle Woodfork, the police department as a whole and more.
Michael Cowan and Greg Rusovich, chairmen of the coalition, joined WWL’s Newel Normand this week to discuss the results.
“We’ve been doing this survey since 2009,” said Rusovich.
“This year was the satisfaction level with the NOPD as an institution was at 31%. That is the lowest since 2009.”
Here’s a breakdown of some of the approval rating findings from the coalition surveys:
Mayor Cantrell - 30% (down from 44% a year ago)
Interim Chief Michelle Woodfork - 43% (former chief Shaun Ferguson left at 44%)
D.A. Jason Williams - 37%
Sheriff Susan Hutson - 29%
Criminal judges - 27%
Juvenile Judges - 17%
“One of the things that’s most troubling to me – and I think it accounts for some of the citizens just dissatisfaction, too – is how completely politicized some really important things have become,” said Cowan. He used the current search for a new police chief as an example.
There also appears to be a disconnect between community concerns and concerns of elected officials in the city, per the survey results. Crime was the top concern for more than 70% of participants. Climate change, a top concern identified by Cantrell, was the major concern for just 4% of participants.
“The city is not safe, Newell, said Rusovich. “According to this survey, people don’t feel it’s safe. And... that it’s getting worse.”
Going forward, the coalition thinks that New Orleans may want to look at “rational cities” like Nashville, Tenn., and Austin Texas, as examples of how to move forward. Most people surveyed (85%) also said they would like to see police use technology to solve crimes.
Listen to the full conversation here.
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