LaToya Cantrell Biography
LaToya Cantrell is an American politician serving as the Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, a post she has held since May 7, 2018.
LaToya Cantrell worked full time to implement Broadmoor’s recovery plan from 2006 through 2012. She and fellow residents formed the Broadmoor School Board, overseeing the reopening and renovation of the Andrew H. Wilson school.She served as a founding board member of the Broadmoor Development Corporation, a community development corporation that provided case management and other social services for returning residents.
LaToya Cantrell was involved with residents’ efforts to reopen Broadmoor’s Rosa F. Keller Library, which won a $2 million grant from the Carnegie Endowment. She created a partnership between the Broadmoor Improvement Association and Church of the Annunciation, which provided the neighborhood association with office space and hosted volunteer groups. She also formed a partnership between the Broadmoor Improvement Association and her home parish, Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, to open the Broadmoor Art and Wellness Center.
LaToya Cantrell Age
LaToya Cantrell was born in Los Angeles, California, United States on April 3, 1972. She is currently 47 years old as of 2019.
LaToya Cantrell Early Life
Cantrell was born in Los Angeles and moved to New Orleans to attend Xavier University of Louisiana, where she earned a BA in sociology. She completed executive management training at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
LaToya Cantrell Husband
LaToya Cantrell lives with her husband Jason and daughter RayAnn in Broadmoor, New Orleans.
LaToya Cantrell Career
Political Career
In 2012, LaToya Cantrell declared her candidacy for the New Orleans City Council seat vacated when former District B representative Stacy Head won an election to an at-large position. After the November election, candidate Dana Kaplan and Cantrell advanced to a December runoff, which Cantrell won with 54 percent of the vote.Cantrell served out the balance of Head’s term, and was unopposed for a full four-year term in 2014.
As a council member, Cantrell focused on health, housing, and criminal-justice issues. LaToya Cantrell introduced a bill banning smoking at restaurants and bars within New Orleans, citing the health effects of secondhand smoke on service industry workers. The council unanimously passed the bill in 2015.
Also in 2015, Cantrell began work to open a low-barrier homeless shelter, a move that was objected to by residents because of its proposed placement in Central City, New Orleans. Instead, the shelter was moved to the downtown site of the former VA Hospital. In 2017, Cantrell introduced legislation with at-large council member Jason Williams to register and inspect rental units in the city.
As a member of the Criminal Justice Committee, Cantrell has participated in efforts to install crime cameras in her district, assess the effectiveness of citywide anti-gun-violence campaigns, and address understaffing at the New Orleans Police Department.
2017 mayoral election
LaToya Cantrell declared her candidacy for mayor of New Orleans in March 2017 in a race to replace term-limited mayor Mitch Landrieu.An open primary was held on October 14 and included 18 candidates. Cantrell garnered the most votes, winning 39% of the total. In the November 18 runoff election, Cantrell defeated fellow Democratic opponent Desiree Charbonnet, a former municipal judge, with 60% of the vote. LaToya Cantrell is the first woman to lead New Orleans in its 300-year history,as well as the first mayor not born in the city since Vic Schiro.
LaToya Cantrell Mayor of New Orleans
Cantrell was inaugurated as mayor on May 7, 2018, the first woman to do so in the city’s history.Once in office, she established a new Office of Youth and Families, with the goal of creating a strategic plan to address families in crisis in the city. Cantrell also founded a Gun Violence Reduction Council tasked with finding solutions to violent crime.
Starting with a push to rededicate hotel taxes collected within the city for city use, Cantrell has focused on her #fairshare initiative to improve city infrastructure, public transportation, and public parks and green spaces.As part of that initiative, in October 2018 the City of New Orleans filed a lawsuit against four opioid manufactures and distributors
LaToya Cantrell Salary
LaToya Cantrell salary is under review and will be updated soon.
Cantrell Awards
In 2016, Cantrell was given a lifetime achievement award by the presidents of Tulane, Loyola and Xavier universities and the University of New Orleans for her service to the community.
Cantrell Twitter