Longtime New Orleans elected official makes surprise entry to Louisiana Secretary of State race

By Piper Hutchinson
Contributing Writer

(lailluminator.com) — Less than one year after he announced his retirement from his near four decade-long career in politics, longtime New Orleans politician Arthur Morrell made a splash by deciding to run for secretary of state in the final hours of qualifying.

“The most important thing is the bedrock for our democracy, and that’s the vote, the individual vote,” Morrell said.

Louisiana’s voting system is secure, Morrell said, but he wants to make sure that continues, he told reporters after qualifying Thursday.

Morrell, who served 23 years in the Louisiana House of Representatives, more recently was the clerk of Orleans Parish Criminal Court for 15 years, where he had a hand in overseeing local elections. Morrell was also a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Morrell, who turned 80 in March, joins in the race with Republicans Nancy Landry, first assistant secretary of state, House Speaker Rep. Clay Schexnayder, Public Service Commissioner Mike Francis and grocery store owner Brandon Trosclair. Also running are long-shot perennial candidates Democrat Gwen Collins-Greenup, Republican Thomas J. Kennedy III and Amanda “Smith” Jennings, who does not list a party affiliation.

The Morrell family has been a staple of New Orleans Democratic politics for the past several decades. Morrell is the father of New Orleans City Council President JP Morrell, who also served in the Louisiana Senate, and wife of Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, a former city council member.

Before serving in the legislature, Arthur Morrell was an attorney, owned a construction company and served in the U.S. Army.

This article originally published in the August 14, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.