NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell's controversial use of the city-owned Upper Pontalba apartment in the French Quarter appeared to be resolved in April when the council voted to prohibit overnight stays.
But the mayor’s use of the apartment since then has forced the issue to resurface with a vengeance.
Council President J.P. Morrell is re-introducing an ordinance on Thursday that would finally put the issue to bed by forcing the city to rent the apartment for fair market value.
Morrell’s ordinance closely tracks the measure he introduced in April, which ultimately got watered down to prohibit the mayor from staying overnight in the apartment overlooking Jackson Square. The compromise policy won unanimous approval, but not without a warning from Morrell.
“I want everyone to look at the tape of this meeting,” Morrell said at the April 20 session, “and see we had an opportunity to solve this problem and get the city out of a headache and instead we just turned into a different one.”
As Morrell suggested back then, Cantrell's recent use of the apartment during Essence Festival weekend is reviving the controversy.
The city's Office of Inspector General also re-visited the controversy, reissuing its earlier recommendation that the city put the apartment back into commerce. The IG’s office estimated the historic property could fetch more than $36,000 a year in rent on the open market.
At her weekly press briefing Wednesday, Cantrell defended her use of the apartment and fired off a pre-emptory shot blasting any potential changes.
“I am worried that the council would move to take away authority of the mayor of the city of New Orleans that has been in existence for over 93 years,” Cantrell said.
Cantrell has always maintained that her use of the space is no different than past mayors, even as her overnight stays fueled the Inspector General’s probe, the unsuccessful recall petition against her, as well as the council’s efforts in April to rein in the apartment’s use.
Cantrell said she is looking ahead to future mayors.
“It's not just LaToya Cantrell. It's every other mayor that should have the flexibility of mayors of our past,” she said.
Cantrell also openly questioned if this is more about her personally than about the apartment.
“They say, ‘There's Something about Mary.’ Well I'm starting to (think) there's something about LaToya. This is personal,” she said.
Morrell's ordinance will be introduced Thursday. It is is expected to be debated by the full council in two weeks.
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