Judge to determine fate of travel ban for city employees
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will be out of state Friday when a judge hears arguments for her lawsuit contesting the city's temporary ban on non-essential travel.
Why it matters: Cantrell is challenging how much power the City Council should have.
The big picture: Orleans Parish Civil District Judge Marissa Hutabarat last week granted Cantrell a temporary restraining order for the travel ban, WDSU reported, which allowed the mayor to travel to Washington, D.C, this week for a trade summit.
- She's part of the U.S. delegation that will meet Friday with mayors from Canada and Mexico, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is hosting the event.
- She took another trip to the capital this month for a conference, which started the day after the travel ban took effect.
Meanwhile, the council on Thursday expanded financial restrictions for employees. Members passed an ordinance that bans using public money to buy alcohol during work trips. It mirrors a state law.
- The council is also looking at extending the travel ban past April 30.
Zoom in: A statement from Cantrell's office argues that the original ordinance "restricting travel by the Administration once again exceeds the authority granted to them under the City's Home Rule Charter."
- Hutabarat granted the restraining order last week without hearing arguments, Fox 8 says.
- A different judge, Sidney Cates, is scheduled to decide Friday if the ban should remain on hold, reports The Times-Picayune.
Catch up quick: City Council president JP 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.
- Financial leaders told the council then that the city had a cash flow problem and painted a picture of a budget crisis.
- Council members expressed skepticism about that outlook. They voted to join the school board in a lawsuit against the city over the broken agreement and later passed the travel moratorium in response to claims of out-of-control spending.
- A judge ruled that the city only has to pay $10 million of the now-void deal.
Between the lines: Cantrell did not veto the travel ordinance, an option she has exercised during a previous face-off with the council over her use of a city apartment.
- She has four attorneys in the lawsuit, according to The Times-Picayune, including Charles Rice, who was rumored last year to be considering a run for mayor.
- City spokesman Terry Davis confirmed Thursday that Cantrell will be traveling Friday and won't be in court. He told Axios he didn't know whether another representative from City Hall would attend.
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.
Chelsea Brasted contributed to this story.