In New Orleans, residents await result of petition to recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell

Residents of Louisiana's signature city New Orleans, in the wake of celebrating America's biggest party during Mardi Gras, may know before Easter whether their embattled Mayor LaToya Cantrell will face a recall election in what would be one of the highest profile political rebukes in the nation.

"This is historic," said Clancy DuBos, who has been covering New Orleans politics for five decades and who provides commentary for Gambit and WWL-TV. "No recall petition in New Orleans has ever gotten this far in modern times."

Recall organizers dramatically delivered 10 boxes of recall petition signatures to New Orleans Registrar of Voters Sandra Wilson last week, insisting they have enough registered voters to force a referendum on Cantrell.

"A lot of people didn't believe in us ... but look at where we stand today," said Eileen Carter, one of the original petitioners who once worked as Cantrell's social media manager, during a press event Wednesday. "Today we are confident we have enough signatures to recall LaToya Cantrell."

But many are skeptical the petition will meet Louisiana's high bar for a recall - about 20% of active registered voters - especially since organizers have refused to make the petitions public. "We're asking you to trust us," Carter said.

"That makes people suspicious," DuBos said. "It does give rise to skepticism."

Under Louisiana law, Wilson has 20 working days to verify the signatures, giving her a March 22 deadline.

But there is at least one lawsuit in play that could impact both the timing and the number of signatures required. Recall organizers are asking a New Orleans judge to order Wilson to canvass the voter rolls to remove names of people who have died or moved out of the city, which would lower the threshold needed to trigger a recall.

That case gets its first hearing Monday.

Cantrell, a Democrat who was reelected to a second term less than 16 months ago, saw her popularity slide quickly after earning generally high marks while navigating the city through the COVID-19 crisis, where her persistent mitigation mandates are largely credited with tamping down the infection.

But since then the city has been on pace to be the murder capital of America, garbage collection was cut in half and Cantrell piled up extravagant travel expenses that she eventually paid back under pressure from the City Council and the public.

"This revolves around the basic fact that citizens on many fronts don't feel like they're being heard and see a lack of urgency in the mayor to address the problems," City Council President JP Morrell told USA Today Network in a previous interview.

Last week during a Mardi Gras parade Cantrell was shown in a video making an obscene gesture with her middle finger. "She's had a lot of unforced errors," DuBos said.

But within her office, Cantrell's communications director Gregory Joseph sent a statement to USA Today that said: "The mayor continues to work on behalf of the people of New Orleans. The city just came off a successful and safe Mardi Gras, and crime is down in numerous major areas. Today and every day, the mayor remains focused on delivering real results for the people of New Orleans."

Last month on CBS' "Face the Nation" the mayor expressed confidence the effort to oust her will fail.

"Based on what I see, the residents of my city definitely appreciate continuity in leadership," she said. "And so with that, that speaks to keeping progress moving and alive under my leadership. Elected twice in the city. 61% the first time, 65% the second time. Continuity and leadership is what I'm seeing by my people."

DuBos said the city has become consumed with the recall drama following Mardi Gras.

"People are talking about it all the time; people are stopping me on the street to ask me about it," he said. "My answer remains: 'Who knows? We're in uncharted territory.'"

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1 

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: What's next in the effort to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell?