Mayorial candidate Bagneris calls for referendum on monument removal

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

Amidst the rancor consuming the city in recent days over the removal of the confederate monuments, culminating in the dethroning of Robert E. Lee on Friday, Mayoral candidate and former CDC Judge Michael Bagneris told The Louisiana Weekly that Mitch Landrieu made a mistake. The sitting Mayor should never have taken down the monuments without a vote of people, the Judge maintained.

“First of all, it is absolutely unforgiveable that our city leaders have allowed the monument issue to take away from all of the pressing issues that we have right now with crime, lack of economy moving forward with no jobs, no opportunities for our young people. The streets should trump that. The fact that our neighborhood streets are in total disrepair, and we have scores of police officers guarding concrete statues of dead people—while living people are being killed every day. That doesn’t make any sense to me. Now, I don’t think we should be about issues that are dividing our community. I want to be a Mayor that will unite our community.”

“This is what I think should have happened to begin with,” Bagnaris continued, “if in fact, a referendum—not a referendum statewide, a referendum only for Orleans Parish—is called, let the people go ahead and decide if they want to move this matter any further.”

Judge Bagneris contended that Mayor Landrieu would have been better served seeking voter approval before lifting the confederate monuments. Moreover, he added, before there is any consideration of removing the other controversial statues, Andrew Jackson, Bienville, E.D. White, and John McDonogh as #TakeEmDownNola has proposed, there should be a citywide public vote.

“Once that vote comes in, that’s it! As far as I’m concerned, we’re still a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

This article originally published in the May 22, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.