New Orleans City Council members call for unity in wake of failed Cantrell recall effort

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - New Orleans City Council members said Tuesday (March 21) that since the effort to recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell was deemed unsuccessful, it is time to unify and refocus on the needs of the city.

“I hope this can be behind us, so we can move forward,” councilman Eugene Green said.

Some councilmembers said it’s time to move on from the effort to unseat the mayor, which began six months ago.

“Kudos to the people who led the recall. It’s their democratic right. And kudos to the people on the other side,” councilman Oliver Thomas said. “But let’s stop the fighting.”

Thomas said that after a largely successful Mardi Gras and improving convention business, the city needs to capitalize on a post-COVID surge in tourism.

“Let’s get everybody in the room who is fighting and taking shots, hoping that the mayor would go,” Thomas said. “And let’s get everybody in the room and say, ‘Look, I didn’t want you here and I may not like you, but New Orleans is too important for us to keep fighting.’”

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Green said, “At the end of the day, quality-of-life issues outpace issues like this. And that’s what I’m going to focus on right now.”

Though the recall has been a major focus for some New Orleanians, council members said they have been proceeding with the work of city government.

“Whatever’s happening within the city, where we have these challenges politically or with crime, people around the world still love New Orleans,” Thomas said. “We’ve been the murder capital for six decades. We got an affordable housing crisis right now and visitors fighting with locals. How do we establish a residential base in this city?”

Now that the recall effort is over, the councilmembers hope they can start getting more traction on the big issues.

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