Should New Orleans Inspector General Resign? The Case Against Ed Michel
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) in New Orleans was created to ensure transparency, accountability, and integrity in city government. But under Ed Michel’s leadership, the office has become entangled in controversy, secrecy, and dysfunction.
Instead of restoring faith in government, Michel’s tenure has raised serious concerns. From blocking public records requests to targeting Black officials while simultaneously overlooking white corruption, his leadership has led many to ask an important question.
Should New Orleans Inspector General Ed Michel resign?
The answer is becoming clearer by the day.
Michel’s Leadership: A Tenure Marked by Scandal
When officials appointed Michel as Inspector General in 2020, expectations ran high. Remember, New Orleanians created the OIG to investigate fraud, waste, and corruption while ensuring wise spending of taxpayer dollars. But over time, his leadership has fallen into controversy.
Now, the office is embroiled in secrecy and mismanagement. Instead of holding public officials accountable, Michel himself is facing allegations of bias, obstruction, and unfair investigations.
Blocking Public Records Requests
One of the most troubling issues of Michel’s tenure is his refusal to comply with public records laws.
- He has denied or delayed requests for financial records, credit card statements, and internal performance evaluations.
- Instead of ensuring transparency, Michel has blocked key documents, raising concerns about how public funds are being used.
- His refusal to disclose information contradicts the OIG’s core mission, which is to expose misconduct, not cover up its own problems.
A leader in charge of enforcing transparency should never be the one hiding information from the public.
Selective Investigations: Targeting Black Leaders
The OIG under Michel has faced serious allegations of racial and sexist bias in its investigations.
- The Hard Rock Hotel collapse report failed to hold powerful white developers accountable despite clear negligence.
- Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson was aggressively investigated over overtime pay issues, but she has since called the probe misogynistic and politically motivated. Michel told several staffers “We’re going to stick it up Susan Hutson’s (expletive),” referring to her genitalia.
- Dr. Kyshun Webster, the former head of the city’s juvenile detention center, was publicly accused of wrongdoing. Yet the Louisiana Board of Ethics found no violations.
Instead of conducting fair investigations, Michel’s leadership has fueled public distrust in the OIG’s motives. A watchdog should serve all people equally, not apply different standards based on race or politics.
Retaliation, Discrimination, and Internal Mismanagement
The OIG must be a model of fairness and integrity, but under Michel, critics accuse it of fostering a toxic work environment.
- Kristan Morales, a former employee, filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against Michel.
- The OIG’s staff lacks diversity, with few Black or female employees in leadership roles.
- The New Orleans Ethics Review Board has spent over $200,000 defending Michel from lawsuits related to discrimination claims.
When people accuse the leader responsible for ensuring ethical government of retaliation and discrimination, it damages public trust in the entire institution.
NOLA OIG UNDER SCRUTINY
Should Ed Michel Resign?
The Office of Inspector General should serve the people—not personal agendas. Michel’s pattern of secrecy, biased investigations, and financial mismanagement has undermined public confidence.
When an Inspector General becomes the biggest controversy in the city, it raises a serious question: Can the OIG function effectively under Michel’s leadership?
New Orleans Needs an Inspector General We Can Trust
- The OIG must be transparent. Michel’s refusal to release public records undermines the credibility of the office.
- Investigations must be fair. Targeting Black officials while ignoring white corruption creates distrust.
- Leadership must be ethical. The OIG should set the standard for integrity, not be a source of discrimination and secrecy.
Michel must reflect on the damage his leadership has caused. The people of New Orleans deserve an Inspector General they can trust. If he truly believes in the mission of the OIG, he must ask himself:
Is his presence helping the office, or is it hurting it?
At this point, the answer is clear. For the good of New Orleans and its future, Ed Michel should step aside. The city needs a leader who restores trust, not one who erodes it.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu