At Urban League debate, mayoral candidates discuss improving city services, other priorities

Nearly three weeks out from the start of early voting, nine candidates for New Orleans mayor made their pitch at a debate Tuesday night at Xavier University hosted by the Urban League of Louisiana. 

City Council Vice President Helena Moreno has maintained a double-digit lead in polling over State Sen. Royce Duplessis and Councilmember Oliver Thomas, who are both seeking enough votes to force the October race into a November runoff. 

Duplessis in his opening remarks said he wants to make New Orleans an easier and more affordable place to live and argued that people are leaving New Orleans because of the “dysfunction out of City Hall,” echoing a television ad his campaign began airing over the weekend blaming Moreno for much of the city’s problems. 

Moreno said she looked forward to working with whoever is elected to the City Council to help them achieve priorities in their districts, arguing that that’s what “good mayors” do.

Thomas said he’d work to improve basic city services, like 911 call response times and street repairs, and bring back twice-a-week trash pickup.

Candidates were also asked how they respond if President Donald Trump deploys National Guard troops to New Orleans, as Trump has suggested doing. The deployment would come even though violent crime in the city is down. 

Duplessis called Trump’s threats “political theater” and said he’d welcome federal support, but not in the form of National Guard troops.

The cities Trump has suggested deploying the National Guard to — New Orleans, Baltimore and Chicago — are “Black cities with Black leaderships,” Duplessis said. The president has also sent troops into Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Moreno said National Guard troops should not be used for law enforcement and would be a “detriment” to the New Orleans Police Department.

Thomas said the dollars spent on deploying National Guard troops to other places could have instead been used on early childhood education. 

Candidates were asked how they would improve the city’s Department of Safety and Permits to ensure better access to city resources for small and minority-owned businesses. 

Moreno said she’d bring in outside experts to revamp safety and permits, pointing to similar efforts in Jefferson Parish. “You need better technology, you need training of employees,” she said. 

Duplessis said he’d cross train city workers and standardize procurement processes across departments. “I want to empower the staff at City Hall to know what the right and left hand is doing,” he said.  

Thomas said City Hall needs to be as aggressive at helping people get permits as it is at shutting people down for not having a permit. He said he’d allow City Hall to issue “provisional permits” to businesses in good standing. He also said he’d also open a standalone economic development office in New Orleans East. 

The event was the final installment in a series of debates organized by the Urban League of Louisiana and nearly two dozen community groups aimed at “uplifting the voices and priorities of Black and Brown New Orleanians” ahead of the October primary. It began after 7 p.m. and as of press time was ongoing. 

Of the 264,000 voters who were registered in New Orleans as of March, 54% identified as Black, 36.5% as White and 9.5% another race. 

Unlike other high-profile forums, which have used fundraising and polling to limit participation to the three major candidates, the Urban League extended invitations to every candidate that remains in the race. In attendance were Renada Collins, Ricky Twiggs, Russell Butler, Eileen Carter, Joe Bikulege, Jr., and Frank Janusa. 

“If you have raised your hand, and you said that ‘I am wanting to lead us, I think I’m deserving to lead us,’ then we’re going to give you a platform and we’re going to let the voters decide,” Charles Phipps, a senior director at the Urban League, told WBOK Tuesday.

Carter, a former social media manager for Cantrell who went on to lead a failed effort to recall her from office, thanked the Urban League for including all the candidates. Carter has said she’d fund an office to coordinate education initiatives and create city-wide business internship program, among other plans. 

“I’m here today to let you know we have more than three options. We’re going to cut the gatekeeping in the city of New Orleans,” Carter said. 

Early voting begins on Sept. 27. Election day is Oct. 11.