While Carnival rolls on in New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell is in Las Vegas as the NFL prepares to hand off Super Bowl 59 to the Big Easy on Monday.
UNO Professor of Political Science, Ed Chervenak, doubts the trip is drawing much criticism in the wake of other trips that the mayor has taken since she took office, many of them overseas.
He says, "The mayor has received lots of criticism for her overseas trips, but this trip seems to be more about actual business for the City of New Orleans."
Chervenak says, "The Super Bowl is a highlight for the city, it's big business for the city, so I do think it makes sense for her to travel to Vegas with this contingent of people she's traveling with."
However, he believes Cantrell will face some criticism for the trip.
Chervenak agrees that to not have gone to Vegas would have been seen as a snub to the NFL.
He says, "It would be a snub if she didnt show up. Particularly the NFL they're are very picky about the Super Bowl and where they are going to have it sited and all that so I think she needs to present a good front for the city."
Still, Chervenak says that there are people who are not going to be happy with the mayor no matter what she does.
Super Bowl 59 will be held on February 9, 2025 in the Caesar's Superdome.
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Cantrell is looking to showcase the city to the world for the 2025 Super Bowl, but also what’s been achieved in New Orleans nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina.