New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has changed her stance and agreed to reimburse the city for nearly $30,000 that she spent on first-class flights.
Cantrell, a Democrat, had refused to repay the city, saying that her luxury flights on trips to France and Switzerland were for legitimate city business. She initially claimed that the flight upgrades were necessary to protect herself from COVID-19 and that she had some travel safety concerns as a black woman.
New Orleans’s top legal officer, City Attorney Donesia Turner, issued a
memorandum on Sept. 27, clearly stating that Cantrell is an employee of the city and therefore needs to follow the city’s travel policies.
“Employees are required to purchase the lowest airfare available,” states the city policy (
pdf) cited in Turner’s memo. “Employees who choose an upgrade from coach, economy or business class flights are solely responsible for the difference.”
Following Turner’s ruling, Gilbert Montaño, the city’s chief administrative officer,
said he would enforce the travel policy and have Cantrell pay for her flight upgrades.
Cantrell
On Oct. 4, at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new YWCA facility, Cantrell told reporters that she will repay the costs, though she didn’t give a timeline on when the payment would be made.
“Based on the policy review, however, I will have to reimburse,” she said,
according to The Associated Press. “So I’m moving forward to do that.”
The mayor reiterated that the flight upgrades were for her health and well-being, noting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cantrell traveled to Europe over the summer to sign sister-city agreements with Ascona, Switerzland, and Juan-les-Pins, France. Her first-class trip to France cost nearly
$18,000, and she spent about
$9,800 on business and first-class flights to Switzerland.
City Council President Helena Moreno, who had previously threatened to
dock Cantrell’s salary over her first-class tickets, welcomed the mayor’s decision.
“I’m glad that the mayor now sees she must repay the people of this city for inappropriately using public dollars to travel first class,” Moreno said in a statement,
according to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
“It took pressure from the public, the council, and her own team to get to this point, but now we can put this behind us and continue to focus on major issues before us including public safety and the upcoming budget.”
Recall
Currently, an effort is underway to recall Cantrell from office. A petition
filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office in August indicates the reason for the recall is “failure to put New Orleans first and execute the responsibilities of the position.”
Organizers of the recall announced on Sept. 27 that more than 10,000 people had signed the petition,
according to local network WDSU. Organizers need to collect nearly
54,500 signatures from eligible voters—20 percent of registered voters in the city—by Feb. 22, 2023, to initiate a recall election.
A poll
released in early September showed 55.4 percent support the recall, while 36.9 percent didn’t want to recall the mayor.
People who signed the petition
have cited the city’s crime rate and her COVID-19 responses as reasons for recalling her.
Dan Lux, a Republican candidate seeking to represent Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes most of New Orleans, shared a photo of him and locals who signed the petition on his Facebook page in September.
“Recalling Mayor Cantrell will be a BIG step in reversing the damage and decline of the great city of New Orleans,” Lux
wrote. “We need to clean house with many of the career politicians.”
Lux is running against incumbent Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) in the Nov. 8 election.
On Sept. 16, the Republican Party of Louisiana announced its endorsement of Lux.
“Dan is not a politician,” organization officials
wrote. “He’s a Louisianan who will bring common sense to Washington D.C. and flush out the swamp that is holding Americans back.”
