NEW ORLEANS — Ahead of next week’s qualifying phase for city elections, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell is out with her first political ad in her re-election campaign.
Some political watchers predicted a candidate from the business community would emerge to challenge the mayor, but with the mayor enjoying high approval numbers, does she face a real threat in seeking a second term?
In the two-minute political ad, Mayor Cantrell focuses heavily on her response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Every single day came with deaths in our community,” Cantrell says in the video.
While many would like to forget the days of lockdown and stay-at-home orders, the video reminds us that time wasn’t too long ago. In one segment of the video, there’s a montage of the mayor announcing multiple restrictions and regulations for the city.
“All public and private gatherings will be canceled,” the mayor says in one clip.
Some of her policy and pandemic decisions drew sharp criticism. She addresses that in the ad.
“When we had to make tough calls, we were ahead of the state of Louisiana and we got blow back, but it was necessary,” Mayor Cantrell said.
On social media, some called her “Latoya the Destroya” for her approach to mask mandates and reopening the city’s economy. Some of her critics said she was stricter in cracking down on bars and restaurants than on criminals of violent crime.
David Rubenstein wrote an opinion in the Advocate last September. The owner of Rubenstein’s clothing store on Canal Street believed Cantrell was too slow in loosening restrictions on businesses. In one part of the opinion, Rubenstein wrote “it is time to fully open our city before it dies an economic death.”
Today, Rubenstein is feeling differently.
“I think she did a really great job; everybody is saying now, we’re really amazed that we had the lowest (rates of infection) in the state. We’ve done good. I think it was a little tight for business, but it worked,” Rubenstein said.
Throughout the pandemic, the mayor and her medical team always maintained that the stiff COVID restrictions actually preserved the economy because they protected the people who drive it. When I sat down with the mayor last spring, she stayed message.
“That is going to ensure residents and visitors alike, that they’re cared about, that we’re taking every precaution necessary to keep them safe when they visit our city,” Cantrell said in May of 2020.
With more foot and car traffic, Canal street today looks dramatically different than it did last year. In a recent poll, Cantrell got 62% approval. So far, with the lack of a big-name challenger, New Orleans’ first female mayor, may have solid shot at a second term.