An attempt to recall the mayor

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Columnist

The threat of recall elections in Louisiana has rarely proved bad for the incumbents. Whereas states like California only require signatures amounting 10 percent of the number of voters who managed to cast a ballot in the previous election, Louisiana law establishes a nearly impossibly higher standard—and that might prove the best chance of survival for the current New Orleans mayor.

Edward Edwards was wildly unpopular when he ended up in a runoff with David Duke in 1991. Those who advocated, “Vote for the crook; it’s important,” did so tongue-in-cheek—with the thought that he would be recalled in months after his fourth election as governor. That signature effort, though, came nowhere near 740,000 signatures (or one-third of the state’s then-2.1 million voters) to force an election.

Even Edwards’ joke, that only way to lose an election was to be caught in bed with “a dead girl or a live boy” fell apart with Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni. Allegations that Yenni sent underwear to a teenage boy and other irresponsible sexting did not prove enough to eject him from office in 2017. Organizer Robby Evans III ended up with less than a third of the 90,527 signatures needed, which is actually a higher number than the 45,823 which actually put Yenni into the Parish Presidency in 2015.

Louisiana’s only successful recalls have occurred in election districts with fewer than 1,000 voters — as it is easier to reach the high threshold. In contrast, the utter difficulty of assembling verifiable signatures and addresses of a fifth of all Orleans Parish voters this year could prove LaToya Cantrell’s defense in current effort underway. There is one difference from past attempts, however. In most of the other cases, the recall efforts were sponsored by the incumbent’s political adversaries. The battle to oust the New Orleans Mayor was kicked off by some of her one-time allies.

Despite Cantrell campaign manager Maggie Carroll’s contention that the effort to assemble 53,000 signatures of Orleans Parish voters in 180 days constitutes “Republican-backed maneuver”, the Mayor’s former social-media manager Eileen Carter filed the recall petition with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office, along with community activist Belden “Noonie Man” Batiste. The latter is a former Democratic candidate for Mayor, but the former is the sister of former La. Democratic Chair & State Senator Karen Carter Peterson. Perhaps more importantly, she is the daughter of B.O.L.D. political organization boss Ken Carter.

One of the main keys to LaToya Cantrell’s upset victory over Desiree Charbonnet in 2017 was the stalwart backing of that Central City-based organization for the District ‘B’ Councilwoman, even as most of the rest of the city’s political establishment lined up behind Charbonnet. B.O.L.D. gave Cantrell a biracial and bipartisan strength across the Uptown area that neutralized Charbonnet’s endorsement advantages, particularly with African-Americans living in neighborhoods near the Mississippi River.

B.O.L.D. has proved the most resilient of the former “alphabet soup” civil rights groups which emerged into New Orleans politics in the 1960s. A loyal core electorate merged with its leaders’ knack for strategic alliances—even with white politicians and occasionally Republicans—has rendered its membership the kingmaker in recent elections. Relations with the B.O.L.D. leadership were cordial for Cantrell, as she represented many of their original core precincts around Dryades St. The Mayor has tried to keep that partnership alive, hiring former District ‘B’ Councilman (and B.O.L.D. Chair) Jay Banks onto her staff after his defeat.

Nevertheless, other members of the B.O.L.D. organization reportedly have grown tired of Cantrell’s “ dismissive attitude“, as one member explained on background to The Louisiana Weekly, amidst rising crime rates. The so-called “travel scandal”, and the Mayor‘s first class upgrades at city expense, did little to change this perception, she explained. Eileen Carter went further in a tweet, starting, “Why lie on your residents and to your residents? Sad. Beldon & I are both black. This is not a race issue. It’s a job performance issue. We are grassroots (no money to date). The divisiveness is one reason we filed the recall – New Orleans cannot take THREE MORE YEARS! Sign it!” In other words when members of the city’s foremost Democratic activist group wishes you ejected from office, the argument that this is a veiled GOP effort falls short.

That’s not to say that Republican backing for the recall effort is nonexistent. After Carter and Batiste filed the petition on Aug. 26, supporters claimed to have garnered more than 3,000 signatures at gatherings in conservative areas of Uptown and Lakeview, according to NOLAtoya.org, one of two anonymous websites supporting the recall. Orleans Parish Republican Executive Committee Adrian Bruneau, son of former GOP Speaker Pro Tem Peppi Bruneau of Lakeview, organized signature locations across this past weekend, and plans to accelerate the effort in the coming days. But then again, so did Black activist and former political candidate Byron Cole.

Advocates of the recall must obtain the necessary and verifiable signatures no later than Ash Wednesday, approximately one year after Cantrell was reelected Mayor with 65 percent of the vote. The Organizers state that they aim for 10,000 signatures more than the 53,000 mandated so as to provide a margin of error.

This article originally published in the September 5, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.