NEW ORLEANS — In her second inauguration, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell reflected on the challenges in her first term while remaining optimistic for the second.
On the front steps of Gallier Hall, Cantrell told a limited audience that the work accomplished in the next four years will determine the trajectory of the city in 50 years.
“Our time is now, and the best has yet to come,” Cantrell said.
The mayor reflected on some of the challenges she has faced since taking office in 2018, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Ida, drainage issues at the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board as well as the longstanding threat of climate change.
“Our people remain resilient, and because of that, we are on a rise,” Cantrell said.
Cantrell said, her team is working on a future built on improved infrastructure, highlighting her first term campaign for a "fair share" to improve the city's drainage.
"More work is to be done, but we started that work — and we are seeing tremendous impacts of it," Cantrell said.
Cantrell said, New Orleans' focus on infrastructure after Hurricane Katrina has positioned the city "to compete for billions rather than millions of federal dollars."
During her address, Cantrell also highlighted the pressing need to slow the effects of climate change because New Orleans is on the "front lines" of the fight against it.
"We know that the climate isn't changing— it has already changed," Cantrell said.
The first immediate challenge for Cantrell’s second term: Drastically rising cases of COVID-19 as the Omicron variant surges through the city and Louisiana.
The rising cases threaten to derail some of the Carnival 2022 festivities, though Cantrell promised last week that New Orleans will have Mardi Gras 2022 “without a doubt.”
► 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.