Is a showdown brewing between the Mayor and the City Council?
If so, are two highly politically charged statements from City Council Members Helena Moreno and City Council President JP Morrell showing frustration with the crime problem or their resolve to take action?
Saturday in a Facebook post Council member Moreno stated violence in the city should be treated like an emergency. But is an emergency declaration the right answer?
WWL approached noted Political Analyst Clancy DuBos on the matter and his response was eye opening:
"If they do a declaration, a formal declaration of emergency, then there's no power. The Mayor does it all in a declared emergency."
DuBos warned Moreno that may not get what she is after.
Treating the crime problem like an emergency would put all the power in the Mayor's hands to act unilaterally.
Like she did during the COVID outbreak when she effectively closed the city of New Orleans altogether.
"We just came out of COVID where the Mayor was basically the Queen. And that's what got her into this attitude that 'people need to do what I tell them to do'."
DuBos says: "It's a tug of war, we're in uncharted territory. This is a brand new thing for the council and the Mayor. There is no script to follow because this is the first time they are doing this."
On Monday, JP Morrell told WWL's Newell Normand he feels the Mayor is not prioritizing the crime problem.
But what can he, and supposedly the Council, do about it?
Well, not much according to DuBos:
"The only mechanism they have is that they can reject who the Mayor nominates [for any high level position like police chief]. Their veto is their mechanism. They can't force the Mayor to do a national search. But they can say 'we will reject whoever you put up if you don't do a national search'."
Once again, New Orleans is caught in a wait-and-see position while crime marches on.
