NEW ORLEANS — The process to certify signatures on the New Orleans recall petitions is underway. Mayor Latoya Cantrell has been somewhat quiet on the matter these past few months. But Wednesday morning, she had a lot to say about it at her weekly media briefing.
She sees the campaign not only as an attack on her legacy but also an affront to democracy.
“This is really no longer about recalling me as the mayor of this city from a lack of me not doing the job. It’s been proven that work is being done. Work continues to be done,” Cantrell said.
Cantrell also suggested the recall effort is an attempt to suppress the black vote.
“It’s evident that this recall is just not about me,” she said. “It is about disenfranchisement of our voters, particularly Black voters in this community.”
Political pollster and Xavier University Professor Dr. Silas Lee said he’s hearing that same criticism starting to bubble up in the community.
“When they started talking about eliminating certain voters, removing them from the rolls, that led to the perception of voter suppression..” Lee said.
We have since learned no names will be stricken from the voter rolls.
But state election officials agreed to reduce the active number of New Orleans voters by 25,000 only for the purposes of determining how many signatures the campaign needs to force a recall election.
Recall vice chair Eileen Carter reacted to the mayor’s comments, saying, it’s a “Continuation of the same spin campaign and false narrative… it’s all her administration has… lies… it’s sad.”
Dr. Lee says it’s clear Mayor Cantrell is trying to protect her legacy.
“It’s a distraction, yes, I’m quite sure for the mayor but that is democracy at work. It can be turbulent and uncertain and that’s what we have right now,” Lee said.
The mayor also told WWL-TV; she hasn’t decided whether her legal team will intervene in the recall effort.