In last week’s version of wild and misleading headlines, one stuck out. You may have come across it, something about New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and A.G. Jeff Landry joining forces to end the NOPD’s consent decree.

The headlines many have conjured an image of the Mayor and A.G. kicked back on a first-class fight, high-fiving, and toasting to the eventual downfall of the federal government’s intrusion into the city’s police department and politics.

But of course, that’s not what’s happening. The two won’t be clinking glasses anytime soon. For her part, the mayor is trying to resurrect her struggling 2nd term. She wants to tackle crime – one of the city’s most glaring problems. And Landry, Landry is just doing Landry, latching onto an issue for political purposes. Lately, it seems New Orleans has been the eye of his infatuation.

Previously on Pandering for Political Purposes, Landry tried to withhold funds for a S&WB plant because of the City Council’s and D.A.’s stances on abortion. If you’re wondering what the city’s sewerage and abortion have to do with each other, the answer is nothing. If you’re wondering what the city’s sewerage and abortion have to do with Landry lining up support for his run for Governor, the answer is everything.

The same applies in this situation. To his credit, Landry does have a New Orleans contingent in his ear – the self proclaimed Bayou Mama Bears. Yes, that is the name of a group of women who demand you take them seriously.

The Mama Bears came to fame by teaming up with Landry to oppose COVID vaccines and masks mandates during the pandemic and to heckle Mayor Cantrell over crime in the city. Like Landry they’ve now deemed themselves experts on the NOPD and consent decrees. Mostly by just talking about it.

This contrasts the heavy lifting Mayor Cantrell has done. Agree with her or not, the Mayor has put in an honest effort of going to Washington to state her case for ending the decree with members of the Justice Department. Landry’s stance, on the other hand, has basically been the equivalent of standing in a corner, shouting, “Yeah, what she said.”

Both are miffed with federal judge Susie Morgan for moonwalking away from her earlier vow to put the NOPD on a transition path. Judge Morgan had previously praised the NOPD for making progress towards its liberation. But that was before the department’s numbers started tanking towards crisis proportions.

Mayor Cantrell And A.G. Landry Aren’t Joining Forces Yet

Since then, neither Cantrell nor Landry have countered Morgan’s new concern – that the NOPD no longer has the staff on hand to continually enforce the tenets of the decree. As of this writing, there are barely 1000 members.

Surely, if Landry were asked his thoughts on this, he’d utter platitudes about federalism and the cost of federal monitors. Mayor Cantrell, for her part, would do what she has come to do recently when the media questions her – utter something infuriating.

Going forward, It’ll be interesting if the city has to turn to the same federal government it’s trying to free itself from for help in paying for new officers and retaining present ones. When those headlines come out, we’ll be back to write about the wild and misleading spectacle that’s made of that.

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