NEW ORLEANS — Opponents of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell brought 10 boxes of petitions to City Hall on Wednesday, saying they had enough signatures to force the removal of the second-term mayor.
The boxes arrived less than an hour before the voters’ office closed, just in time after a six-month journey.
However, an election to unseat New Orleans’ first woman mayor is not a sure thing. The required number of signatures was a moving, uncertain target. Neither Eileen Carter nor Belden Batiste, two of the effort’s founders, would say exactly how many signatures were received on Wednesday. Carter gave a tip.
“We got more signatures than the mayor got votes,” she said.
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Cantrell, first elected in 2018, easily won re-election in a low-turnout campaign in November 2021, when she received 48,750 votes.
Her second term has been plagued by a myriad of problems — including persistent violent crime, erratic progress on major road projects that have left some city streets in disarray, and unreliable garbage collection. Questions have also been raised about her personal use of a city dwelling.
Petition organizers say she further hurt her own cause when she was featured in a widely shared social media video gesturing the middle finger at a passing carnival parade. The reason for the gesture – whether she was offended by a car issue or by something done or said by a driver – is unclear and the city has said little about it.
“This administration is a gift that keeps on giving,” Carter said.
Cantrell communications director Gregory Joseph declined to comment on the ride. “We’re just going to keep going,” he said, echoing a response Cantrell had repeatedly given during the recall.
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The mayor said crime is a nationwide problem that has taken hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. And administration officials have said they are taking steps to improve road and garbage problems.
It is questionable how many valid signatures are required. Originally, organizers sought more than 52,000 signatures based on state figures showing more than 264,000 registered voters. However, research led to the target being lowered to somewhere between 49,000 and 50,000 as some of the voters are believed to be inactive for reasons such as not voting in multiple elections.
The organizers of the recall have gone to court to lower the number even further. They say the Orleans borough electoral roll has failed to remove hundreds of dead voters from active lists — and nearly 30,000 people who have moved out of town. That could lower the threshold by around 6,000 voters.
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Even as their lawsuit is being fought, they are hoping for a spring election. The registrar has 20 days to certify signatures and then, if sufficiently verified, send them to Governor John Bel Edwards. Edwards would have 15 days to schedule an election. It is possible that a recall will be included in the state ballot on April 29. But there are numerous unknowns — including how many signatures may or may not be deemed legitimate, and what legal challenges Cantrell might bring.
Cantrell supporters saw an attempt by Republicans to attack a black mayor and Democrat early in the recall campaign. However, Carter is a prominent Democrat and she stressed that support for the action is bipartisan and multiracial.
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