City Council slams mayor's trip to D.C. amid travel ban
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City Council president JP Morrell expressed his "dismay and extreme concern" Monday about Mayor LaToya Cantrell's trip to attend a conference in Washington, D.C.
Why it matters: The trip is the first test of the council's ordinance that temporarily bans non-essential travel for city employees. It became law at noon Sunday.
The big picture: Cantrell is at the Yale Mayors College, her office announced Sunday.
- The conference was "confirmed on the Mayor's Office schedule well before the recent council ordinance," the statement said.
- The city "will not incur a cost for the mayor's participation" in the conference, her office said Monday afternoon.
- They would not say if any staffers attended with the mayor and directed Axios to file a request with its legal department.
Yes, but: Morrell argues in a letter written to City Hall leaders and shared with Axios that it is "legally irrelevant that the Mayor's latest lark" was announced before the moratorium took effect.
- "This legislation ... was adopted to address claims by you and other members of the administration that spending was out of control," Morrell wrote.
- He adds that Cantrell did not veto the ordinance, an option she has exercised during a previous face-off with the council over her use of a city apartment.
Zoom out: Morrell proposed the travel moratorium last month after the mayor and her administration backed out of a $20 million funding deal with the Orleans Parish School Board.
- When the city's financial leaders appeared before the council, they painted a picture of a budget crisis.
- Council members expressed skepticism about the financial outlook. They voted to join the school board in its lawsuit against the city and later passed the travel moratorium through April.
What he's saying: "Given the administration's claims that the City is headed for a potential fiscal crisis, it is simply beyond the pale that the Mayor would ignore an ordinance designed to address the fiscal crisis that prompted her to withhold funding from Orleans Parish schoolchildren," Morrell wrote.
- He implored the city's chief administrative officer and the city's finance director to "enforce the law — even in the face of high-ranking officers who would ignore it."
- He also issued a video statement.
What she's saying: "The Mayor will ... will not be distracted by misinformation that seeks to divide us and disrespect, but she will stay focused on what makes our city stronger together," according to a statement Monday afternoon from her office.
State of play: Cantrell's travel has been a sore spot during her second term.
- She has taken several domestic and international trips, often flying first-class.
- Those upgrades, which she charged to the city, made her the target of a state ethics investigation.
- Cantrell maintains that as the city's first female mayor and a Black woman, she faces more intense scrutiny and has been held to different standards than her predecessors.
What's next: Morrell requested documentation of expenses related to the latest trip.
- He's also asked leaders not to use city funds to reimburse the mayor or anyone traveling with her.
- The conference ends Tuesday. Cantrell's office did not respond to questions about when she will be back in town.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from the mayor's office.