Petition Filed To Recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell From Office

A new petition has officially been filed in an attempt to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell from office.

The Louisiana Secretary of State's office confirmed the recall petition was filed Friday (August 26) in Baton Rouge by former mayoral candidate Belden "Noonie Man" Batiste, per FOX 8. In the official filing, Batiste claims as the reason for the recall to be "failure to put New Orleans first and execute the responsibilities of the position."

In addition to Batiste, Eileen Carter was also listed on the recall petition. She previously worked in Cantrell's administration, serving as a social media manager for a period of time, according to a social media post from March 2021.

To successfully get a recall election on a ballot in Louisiana, 20% of legal voters must sign the petition, which means at least 53,343 registered voters in Orleans Parish must sign the petition within 180 days. As of Friday, the petition has more than 2,000 signatures, per WDSU.

Cantrell's office issued a statement in response to the filing, with director of the mayor's office of communications Gregory Joseph saying, "The mayor is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to solve the problems of the city."

He added, "Whether it is public safety, sanitation, development. This mayor cares about every person in the city and lifting the city. This is a world-class city, and we are going to keep on striving to make it the best possible that's what she's going to continue to do."

The move to recall Cantrell comes as she has been facing several controversies such as concerns over her travel expenses, 4WWL reports. She also recently showed up in court to support a juvenile carjacker who used a fake gun to steal cars, causing many to question her decision, though she claims he has shown that he is trying to "make better decisions" by participating in her Pathways program.