Jeff Landry becomes governor of Louisiana at noon, officially, and has had a contentious political relationship with the city of New Orleans. What could that mean for the next four years in the Crescent City?
As Attorney General, Landry joined a lawsuit against New Orleans trying to overturn Mayor LaToya Cantrell's COVID pandemic emergency restrictions. He also clashed with the city over abortion policy and voted to withhold approval of bonds for projects that would benefit the city.
UNO political science professor Ed Chervenak says we'll probably see a governor who is assertive when it comes to New Orleans.
"He basically said that he's going to try and basically change the direction of the city, and of course crime is the big issue here and we'll see where he has to go with that."
After winning the governor's race, Landry formed a transition committee on finding what he considers solutions for the city's problems, but the vast majority of that committee are not New Orleans residents.
"It appears to be an outside-in kind of approach that the governor's going to take," said Chervenak.
But since the election Landry has also seemed to soften his rhetoric. Chervenak thinks the governor and mayor may strike a more conciliatory tone.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they were on the same podium and talking about the same issues, because they do need to work together," he said.
