Should Mayors Leave Their Cities? New Orleans’ Election Is Testing the Question.

In reliably blue New Orleans, Louisiana Democrats say one issue that voters will pay close attention to in the city’s upcoming mayoral election is travel. More specifically, how much of it their next mayor plans to do.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who is term limited and was indicted on Aug. 15 for wire fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice, has gotten plenty of backlash for her penchant for travel over the years.

“I can’t speak for everybody in New Orleans, but a lot of people are unhappy because we just don’t see the benefit,” Arnie Fielkow, a former Democratic city council member, told NOTUS weeks before the federal indictment on Cantrell made headlines. “Mayor’s travel, that’s part of the job. Have no issue with that per se. But, she’s gone overseas many, many times. It doesn’t seem to be of any help to the city of New Orleans.”

It wouldn’t be the only city where a mayor or candidate’s whereabouts are a major storyline this year. When New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted, he was accused of receiving luxury travel benefits to Turkey, making mayoral travel a prominent topic in his reelection bid. Adams in turn criticized his Democratic opponent Zohran Mamdani for traveling to Uganda to visit family this summer.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser most recently drew attention for traveling to Martha’s Vineyard as National Guard troops were deployed to her city’s streets. And Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced scrutiny for being in Ghana when wildfires broke out in the region in January.

Cantrell’s indictment followed an investigation into her alleged affair with Jeffrey Vappie, a former New Orleans Police Department officer. In the 48-page indictment, federal prosecutors allege that the two lied about using city funds for official business, and instead used the money to travel the country together. Vappie previously served as a member of Cantrell’s security detail prior to his retirement. Though legal and government experts say it’s unlikely Cantrell will go to trial before the end of her term, she would have to vacate office if she was convicted of a felony.

“The City of New Orleans has released multiple statements that we will not make comments about this case and any information will come from the private attorney’s handling the legal process,” Terry Davis, director of communications at the mayor’s office, told NOTUS in a statement when asked about the indictment. Cantrell has not made any public comments about the details of the indictment.

Cantrell’s office did not respond to questions about how travel would factor into the mayoral race to replace her, made in inquiries ahead of the indictment.

But it’s something that’s clearly on the minds of candidates eager to replace her.

“Travel has been a big issue, especially given our current mayor,” state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democratic mayoral candidate, told NOTUS on Tuesday. “I plan to be fully present here as mayor. There are trips that mayors have to take. … But that would not be the focus for me, certainly for not the first year, maybe not even the first two years.”

Cantrell’s reputation for frequent international travel goes back years. She reportedly spent tens of thousands of dollars on travel and drew attention to her upgrades to first class, which she said was a protective measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, the Louisiana Board of Ethics charged Cantrell with violating the city’s travel policy.

Robert Collins, a professor of urban studies and public policy at Dillard University, told NOTUS that the topic of travel has been on voters’ minds because of the local coverage Cantrell has received. He expects voters to ask candidates about it.

“If you look at the polling, her popularity is very low right now. And one of the reasons is because the taxpayers feel that she spent too much time outside of the city,” Collins said in an August interview before news of the federal indictment. He added that if she’s “outside of the city, then that means that she’s not in the office in the city, doing people’s business, doing the job that she’s being paid to do and was elected to do by the taxpayers.”

In 2023, amid concerns with her travel, current mayoral candidate Eileen Carter, who is running with no party affiliation, helped lead an effort to force Cantrell into a recall election. The effort failed.

Carter told NOTUS on Tuesday that there were now other factors at play given the indictment.

“Yes, travel was [part of] the issue, but that wasn’t the entire issue,” Carter said. “Our issue is not her private life. Our issue is that she wasn’t working. And so that’s what she was doing, traveling with him? It is what it is.”

“I’m not worried about anybody’s travel,” Carter added when asked if she planned to address travel in her campaign. “I’m worried about there not being a void in leadership in the city of New Orleans.”

The issue of travel plagued Cantrell long before the federal indictment. Earlier this year, the city council attempted to restrict travel by city employees through an ordinance aimed at addressing the city’s budget crisis. Cantrell pushed back in the courts, which eventually ruled the ban was unconstitutional.

In May, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill questioned the mayor’s absence weeks after a major jailbreak at Orleans Justice Center that resulted in 10 inmates escaping.

Oliver Thomas, a Democratic New Orleans city councilman and mayoral candidate, told NOTUS in July that he has received questions from voters regarding his plan for travel. While “it hasn’t been a consistent thing,” he planned to make the topic a part of his campaign platform.

“When that question would be brought up about travel, and how would I travel, the travel-with-a-purpose theme came from me and my team,” Thomas said of speaking with voters. He said he promised to “travel with purpose” and not “just to cut ribbons and to go places I’ve never gone.”

Richard Twiggs, an independent candidate for mayor, told NOTUS before Cantrell’s indictment that her traveling habits were “nothing new” and that “past mayors have done the same thing.” While he didn’t think it would be a “major factor” for the next mayor, he believes voters want a mayor who stays in the city.

“It’s something that I believe most individuals don’t want to see within an elected leader within the last couple of years,” Twiggs said. “I think people want someone who is from the city of New Orleans, who was raised by the city of New Orleans, and that will stay in the city of New Orleans and do the work that has been neglected by past mayors for so long. ”