We Must Keep It Real About Mayor Cantrell’s Legacy
If you are reading this, you may be suffering from Teedy Derangement Defense Syndrome. It’s a terrible affliction affecting too many black people across this city. Symptoms include an acute irrationality that manifests itself in defending mayor LaToya Cantrell just because she’s black. You may not even be aware that you’re suffering from the syndrome. You may believe you’re defending a Black woman against a white shadow government and an openly hostile City Council. That’s the beauty of the affliction, though. It’s as silent and deadly as a fart in a closed room. And unfortunately, it leaves the mind just as funked and fogged.
Luckily, there’s a cure; it’s this article. But before we get started, there’s one thing you need to know: Teedy was bad for black people. Time and again, when she could’ve elevated black people to positions of power, or kept them in it, she turned to white people instead.
Don’t think so? Let’s take it to the receipts.
Case Study 1: Black-Owned Trash Haulers
Before Teedy came along, Metro Disposal and Richard’s Disposal were two of the city’s most successful black businesses. For over a decade, they hired black people. They supported important non profits. And they funded black candidates. That success came from securing one of the largest city contracts Black-owned businesses had ever received.
It took Teedy a little over a term and a half to run them both out of business. She refused to pay either for the extra trash they were picking up during COVID and Hurricane Ida. Metro accused her of manufacturing a crisis. Two independent analysts determined she was beating both out of a $1 million a year.
In short time, she awarded Sidney Torres’ IV Waste the trash contracts and paid him double the amount for half the service. Since then, Torres has become a political force. And two community leaders saw their net worth and influence diminish dramatically. Certainly Oliver Thomas and Royce Duplessis could’ve used their financial support in the mayoral election.
Case Study 2: NOPD Leadership Decisions
We could’ve had black girl magic all up in this thing. There was a time when black women could’ve held three of the most powerful positions in this city. We’re talking mayor, sheriff, and police chief. But, enter Teedy.
It appeared that Michelle Woodfork was doing an excellent job as interim police chief. Crime was going down. Morale at the NOPD was going up. The City Council even liked her. But when it came time to pick a permanent chief, Teedy bypassed Woodfork and chose a white woman. In this case Chief Anne Kirkpatrick followed the strategy Woodfork put in place and the department continued to excel.
Apparently, the one thing Woodfork wasn’t doing was nixing the Vappie investigation. But because of this personal pettiness, we were denied having another black woman in a position of power. Meanwhile, since her appointment, Anne Kirkpatrick has made a point of distancing herself from Teedy. .
Case Study 3: Bayou Phoenix and the Six Flags Redevelopment
Before Teddy was going to bat for Troy Henry and the French Quarter trash contract, she was trying to beat him out of Bayou Phoenix. When the proposals came in for redeveloping the Six Flags site, Troy Henry’s group won by all the required metrics. But Teedy wanted Drew Brees’ group to get the contract. So she declared a tie, and demanded a do-over.
If it wasn’t for Think504 and outraged citizens and a real outpouring of support from the entire community, Henry would’ve been denied the contract he deserved. And instead of the biggest private development deal in the history of New Orleans, the site would’ve been home to some type of farm to table plantation.
Despite all of this, you’ll still hear some of the syndrome sufferers defending her. Yes, she did some good, and it deserves to be acknowledged honestly.. She got the city a bigger share of tourism dollars. And she was excellent during COVID. Her leadership saved the city from a bigger outbreak. It’s also true that she dealt with the Council’s hostile leadership and found herself being followed and photographed. But the receipts don’t lie. in the end, she just wasn’t good for black people.
Black loyalty is not a birthright handed out with skin tone—it’s currency, and leaders only earn it through what they actually deliver for us. It requires a record that shows you’re down for us. Otherwise, we’re just sending the same message that we’ve been sending to politicians for decades — that we can be lulled into settling for less and easily taken for granted.