NEW ORLEANS — Thursday, City Hall revealed Anne Kirkpatrick’s confirmation hearing for NOPD Chief will be held Oct. 11. But it now appears another candidate had more support than was led to believe.
In a statement Wednesday, Council member Helena Moreno said she was surprised and disappointed interim Chief Michelle Woodfork wasn’t the mayor’s pick. Instead, Mayor Cantrell picked Anne Kirkpatrick.
“There’s this scuttlebutt that the council wouldn’t have confirmed Michelle Woodfork and I’ll tell you this that’s not what I’ve ever heard from other council members. I think everyone was willing to give her a fair shot,” Moreno said.
Moreno had previously criticized the chief search, but Thursday she told WWLTV the criticism was about transparency, adding Woodfork was doing a good job.
“No doubt about it I think a national search was necessary,” Moreno said. “We always said if it’s going to be a local person well let’s put them up against the outsiders as well and see who rises to the top and clearly the one local person who did make it to the top contender list was Michelle Woodfork.”
But now, Moreno’s focus is on Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick’s confirmation hearing is now scheduled for Oct. 11, from 9 a.m. to noon. Kirkpatrick will present on topics such as a deployment plan, recruiting, her crime fighting strategy and more. Plus, she’ll answer questions from the council.
Then from 1 p.m., members of the public will have time to comment and council will have the ability to ask additional questions.
Moreno said she wants to hear about a few specific things, including Kirkpatrick’s plans for recruiting, her plans to get New Orleans out of the consent decree and how she’ll address violent crime.
Kirkpatrick is expected to meet with each councilmember individually before the hearing.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.