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The New Orleans City Council Races

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The New Orleans
City Council Races

The races for New Orleans City Council are as critical as any taking place in the city. These district representatives must make the needs of the distinct electorate that put them in their respective offices a priority while also working with their colleagues to move the entire city forward.
The New Orleans Tribune has taken a look at significant candidates in these races.

District A Jay Batt

Former District A City Councilman Jay Batt is fighting to reclaim the seat he lost four years ago to Councilwoman Shelly Midura, who is not seeking re-election.

Having served on the council, Batt would bring experience with him that should prove valuable as New Orleans continues to move toward recovery. Batt says that he looks forward to building a working relationship with his council colleagues as well as the city’s new mayor that will help get things done in New Orleans.

“I’ll always find common ground,” he says.

Batt says he will focus on quality of life issues such as blight, crime, infrastructure improvement and will work toward implementing the master plan if elected.

“If we do that, people will come,” he says.

Calling tourism the lifeblood of the city’s economy, the candidate says he will also look at ways to expand development of the port, riverfront and the airport.

District B Corey Watson

Corey Watson says he is running because he believes that he can positively affect the city’s recovery and “help speed up the healing.”

He faces incumbent Stacy Head, whose personal agendas and sometimes bizarre, if not disruptive, behavior might, in part, explain the lack of progress during the last four years as it relates to the city council’s role in helping to guide the city’s recovery.

While Head spent much of her tenure lambasting the city’s contract with two African-American business owners, issues critical to quality of life have seemingly gone ignored. And Watson has no trouble saying that the current climate of leadership for District B played a major role in his decision to run.

“Katrina devastated this city, and we’re going to blow kisses at people who lost their homes.”

Watson promises to build coalitions, not to prolong the divisiveness that has plagued the current make-up of the city council.

“I know how to solve problems,” he says, “I work with teams. That’s just in my nature to get the job done. It’s not about personalities. It’s about the people we serve.”

In addition to restoring civility to the council, Watson says he will work though code enforcement and will support increased funding of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority to tackle blight in the city.

This married father of two is an engineer and local business owner who understands, first-hand, the challenges faced by other small and disadvantaged businesses in the community.

He says he will work to increase enforcement of the law passed the city council to ensure that 50 percent of all city contracts go to local business and 35 percent to disadvantaged businesses.

“It’s not happening now,” he says. “If local and disadvantaged businesses get an opportunity, there is a ripple effect in our community.”

Improving crime and addressing infrastructure needs in District B and throughout the city are other issues Watson, who is the son of Rev. Tom Watson, says he will address if elected.

District C

The New Orleans Tribune has not endorsed a candidate in the District C race.

District D Cynthia Hedge-Morrell

Cynthia Hedge Morrell has emerged as a true leader for District D. She has been an outspoken representative of one of the areas most impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Hedge Morrell has defended positions that were unpopular among other members of the council in an effort to stand up for their constituents at a time when many of then were still dispersed throughout the country.

She deserves four more years to help continue and guide District D’s growth and recovery.

A veteran educator and acclaimed principal of McDonogh 15 School, Hedge-Morrell won her seat in 2005, only a few months before Katrina. District D includes Gentilly and parts of the upper 9th Ward.
As Hedge-Morrell wages her campaign to keep her District D seat, she also reflects on the progress that has been made since the storm--from the return of homeowners and businesses, both large and small, to the return, redevelopment and expansion of educational institutions in the district.
“I think we’ve been lucky in District D with businesses and services wanting to return and with working with citizens to empower them to come back.”

District E Austin Badon, Jr.

State Rep. Austin Badon, Jr., took himself out of the field of mayoral candidates last fall when he announced that he’d seek the District E council seat, seeing it as the best way he can help continue the recovery of New Orleans East and the Ninth Ward.

Badon’s platform includes tackling crime, encouraging economic development, and reforming city government.

In the area of crime, Badon, who has served in the state House of Representatives since 2004, says he will support a nationwide search for a new police chief. But more than that, he has committed to working to ensure that the police department has the resources it needs to fight crime while also demanding a high level of competency and experience from officers and police department leadership.

Badon also supports the creation of a comprehensive economic development plan that will examine and assess best practices and how they can be implemented in New Orleans. He also promises to make the city’s permit and licensing process more efficient for business owners to help advance the city’s economy.

Jon Johnson

Jon Johnson says he is a natural choice to continue and even speed up the progress made in City Council District E.

A former state representative and state senator, Johnson says he will bring the leadership experience and know-how needed to get things done. While serving in the state legislature, Johnson chaired the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs committee.

If elected, Johnson would represent New Orleans East and much of the Ninth Ward, areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. He says he is looking forward to working with residents to continue rebuilding the area.

“The people in these communities have done wonders to inspire government,” he says. “This is an opportunity for government to say we want to join you.”

Reopening Methodist Hospital and New Orleans East and bringing more healthcare services to the Ninth Ward are areas that Johnson say will command his attention.

“Four years after Katrina, New Orleans East should not have to beg for a hospital,” he says. “It should have been a priority for the city and the state.”

He also vows to work to bring improvements in key areas, including crime, economic development, education, housing, infrastructure, recreation and government services.

One of his promises includes working to open a City Hall annex in District E to make government services more accessible to residents there.