Voters will get a chance to decide in November whether the New Orleans Mayor’s appointments should have to get City Council approval. Such a change would impact future appointments for the head of NOPD, Public Works, and 12 other departments listed in the City Charter.
This comes after a contentious council meeting where allies of Mayor Latoya Cantrell, who opposes the move, slammed those on the council who supported putting the issue on the ballot.
The final vote had Council President Helena Moreno, Council VP JP Morrell, Councilwoman Lesli Harris, and Councilman Joe Giarrusso in support. Councilman Eugene Green voted against it. Councilmen Oliver Thomas and Freddie King were absent.
Action New Orleans, a pro-Cantrell PAC, blasted out an email last night calling on residents to speak out against the move. Despite the administration’s fierce opposition to amending the charter, no city officials spoke at today’s meeting in opposition.
Representatives of some of the city’s faith community were in attendance, slamming councilmembers who backed the move. Insinuations that it was racist and sexist against the city’s first Black woman mayor were common, along with frequent exaltation of the mayor’s performance.
Five of seven councilmembers are Black and the Council President is a woman.
A line of questioning from Council VP JP Morrell suggested that these group’s opposition may be political, and influenced by the fact that they receive grants and other funds from the Cantrell Administration. One speaker queried about his financial links to the Cantrell Administration revealed his wife had city contracts.
Council supporters argued the charter change would increase accountability in city government, and putting it on the ballot ultimately made it a democratic issue that will be decided by residents. Opponents contend it will turn the appointment process into a “political circus” and gridlock future administrations.
Councilman Green was the lone no vote today. He’s opposed the move since it was first introduced arguing the Council already has enough power to check the mayor’s appointments and involving the council in the approval process could jeopardize their ability to fairly hold department leaders to account through budgeting.
