NEW ORLEANS – It was a busy day Wednesday at courthouses across Louisiana as candidates began to qualify for fall elections.
In New Orleans, the big races include the open seat for the New Orleans Mayor as well as City Council races. Incumbent Mayor Mitch Landrieu is term-limited, making the mayor’s race a wide-open contest.
Wednesday morning, former Municipal Court Judge Desiree Charbonnet, City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell and retired former Civil District Court Judge Michael Bagneris qualified.
Some lesser-known candidates also signed up for the Mayor’s race, including community activist Byron Stephan Cole as well as New Orleans executive coach Matthew Hill.
Wednesday is the official start for what will likely be a lively and hotly-contested election.
“This is a critical time for the city of New Orleans,” Cantrell said. “It is bigger than just the end of a mayoral transition time. We’re going to be 300 years old.”
“I’m feeling great. I’m feeling excited,” Charbonnet said. “I’m energized and ready to go. I’m fit for the job and ready to do this job.”
“No one -- no one -- who had announced thus far or qualified thus far can compete with my experience,” Bagneris said. “I have experience in municipal government. I have experience in the legislature, I have experience in the judiciary.”
Businessman Frank Scurlock was expected to qualify for the Mayor’s race Thursday but later was expected to show up Friay. Also, visual artist Charles Anderson announced his intention to run through a music video on his website. Developer and businessman Sidney Torres told WWL-TV he's still mulling a run.
The race for mayor always gets a lot of attention, but the race for city council is just as important. This year, the city council will have at least three new faces – possibly more – once voting ends.
Thursday’s qualifying continues until 5 p.m. Below is a list of who's qualified as of 3:15.
MAYOR
- Charles Anderson
- Michael Bagneris
- Latoya Cantrell
- Desiree Charbonnet
- Byron Stephan Cole
- Matthew Hill
- Johnese Smith
COUNCIL AT-LARGE
- Eldon Delloyd “EL” Anderson (Div. 1)
- Kennith Cutno (Div. 1)
- Helena Moreno (Div. 1)
- Jason Williams (Div. 2)
DISTRICT A (open due to Susan Guidry being term-limited)
- Joe Giarusso II
- Tilman Hardy
- Aylin Maklansky
- Daniel “Dan” Ring
- “Drew” Ward
DISTRICT B (open due to LaToya Cantrell running for mayor)
- Jay H. Banks
- Seth Bloom
- Catherine Love
- Timothy David Ray
- Andre “Action Andre” Strumer
DISTRICT C
- Kristin Gisleson Palmer (former Dist. C councilwoman; didn’t seek re-election in 2014)
- Nadine Ramsey (incumbent)
DISTRICT D
- Belden “Noonie Man” Batiste
- Jared C. Brossett (incumbent)
- T. “Thad” Cossabone
DISTRICT E
- Ernest “Freddie” Charbonnet
- Alicia Plummer Clivens
- James Gray (incumbent)
- Dawn Hebert
- Cyndi Nguyen
CORONER
- Dwight McKenna
- Jeffery Rouse (incumbent)
SHERIFF
- Fredrick “Freddy” Brooks
- Marlin Gusman (incumbent)
CLERK OF CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT
- Arthur Morrell
CLERK OF CIVIL DISTRICT COURT:
- Dale Atkins
ASSESSOR:
- Anthony Brown
- Errol Williams
CIVIL DISTRICT COURT, DIVISION J:
- Omar Mason
- D. Nicole Sheppard