Top Mayoral Candidates Spar in Forum, Discuss City Services and Trust
TL/DR –
The top three mayoral candidates for the upcoming New Orleans election participated in a forum where they pledged to restore basic services, infrastructure and public trust in city government. They also grilled each other, particularly on the topic of the current council’s fraught relationship with Mayor LaToya Cantrell. The candidates each outlined their plans for improving the city’s issues, such as streetlight and drainage repair, public safety, waste management, and reversing population decline.
Mayoral Candidates Spar Over Basic Services, Infrastructure and Public Trust Restoration
During the recent Monday night forum at Lakefront Airport, the three leading mayoral candidates, State Sen. Royce Duplessis, City Council Vice President Helena Moreno and District E Councilmember Oliver Thomas, pledged to mend basic services, infrastructure and public trust in city government for the upcoming October primary election.
In a slight deviation from typical candidate forums, former WDSU-TV anchor Norman Robinson allowed candidates to question each other. Duplessis and Thomas, trailing in recent polls, challenged Moreno on the strained relationship between the council and Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Duplessis questioned Moreno’s role in the city’s chaos and dysfunction. Moreno defended the council, citing accomplishments like Gordon Plaza relocations and stopping controversial Cantrell initiatives. She also highlighted the Council’s success in suing Cantrell for her handling of the Wisner Trust. Thomas, however, argued that the council lost other legal battles with the mayor.
In the forum, Moreno underscored her commitment to fight for citizens of the city. The forum, hosted by lakefront neighborhood associations, the Rotary Club of New Orleans and New Orleans East Rotary, and backed by Sidney Torres IV of IV Waste, will air on WYES television.
Torres, a Moreno supporter, said he funded the event to empower the community with information. Candidates were chosen based on independent poll results and campaign fundraising.
Streets, Drainage, Communication
With Moreno questioning Thomas’ qualification over Duplessis, Thomas cited his institutional knowledge and ability to work with Duplessis in Baton Rouge.
Duplessis pledged to streamline the city’s Department of Safety and Permits and audit the city’s budget for waste, aiming to close a deficit of at least $70 million. Moreno vowed to staff the city’s Office of Economic Development and the Department of Public Works. Thomas promised to reintroduce twice-a-week trash pickup and enforce department performance plans.
Chronic street and traffic light outages were blamed on copper theft by Moreno and Thomas, who proposed solar and aluminum alternatives and stricter salvage yard regulations respectively. Duplessis plans to create a dashboard to track outages.
Halting Population Decline
All candidates pledged to reverse the city’s population decline. Moreno sees the issue as central to her campaign, wanting it to be her legacy. Duplessis emphasized the need to create a vision for the city that encourages people to stay, while Thomas proposed to make New Orleans “a city that works”.
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