New Orleans' mayoral hopefuls seek to edge out competition
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New Orleans' top mayoral candidates are already deep into campaigning as the city approaches its Oct. 11 primary.
The latest: This fall's election will reshape leadership in a city struggling to keep residents and provide them with basic services.
Zoom in: The nonprofit Young Leadership Council hosted the latest mayoral forum on Tuesday in partnership with a handful of other local organizations, with a large enough crowd to fill out the New Orleans Jazz Market.
- Onstage were the top four candidates in the polls: City Councilmembers Helena Moreno and Oliver Thomas, retired Judge Arthur Hunter and State Sen. Royce Duplessis.
- The full list of candidates remains a crowded field of 12. Verite has a full list.
Inside the room: All four candidates remained cordial, occasionally laughing at each other's jokes and showing a bit of campaign camaraderie.
- While no one mentioned Mayor LaToya Cantrell by name, her tenure was a reference point as Moreno pledged to be a "24/7 mayor" and Duplessis knocked local leadership for residents "seeing chaos coming out of City Hall."
How it worked: The YLC's format offered three minutes to respond to each question, though only two participants could reply to each, with the exception of opening and closing comments.
- The result was a fast-moving conversation with more chances to differentiate between candidates.
- Though the questions came from different participating organizations, together they painted a picture of a community at a tipping point as the city loses population, daily life becomes more difficult and young families weigh whether they should be next to leave.
What they're saying: Here's a snapshot of moments that garnered audience applause or laughter:
- Thomas: "I don't care if you don't like me, I don't care if you don't vote for me, but I'm willing to work with you to make a better New Orleans."
- Moreno: "We're seeing other parishes fix their broken departments. We can do it, too. A lot of this is about leadership, about having the right leader who's going to act in a transparent way, hold people accountable and get the job done."
- Duplessis: "New Orleanians are pretty practical in their expectations. They deserve more. … People know we have big challenges, and people are in New Orleans because they want to be here."
- Hunter: "If you're an entrepreneur, I want you to make as much money as you can because I need that tax money to fix these streets."
Watch the full conversation on YouTube, via WWL.