NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana made for a colorful backdrop to a similarly animated mayoral candidates’ debate on Tuesday evening, where nine hopefuls took the stage before a packed crowd of hundreds.
The Convocation Center hosted the final event in a debate series organized by the Urban League of Louisiana, with pre-formed questions addressed to candidates based on their backgrounds and campaign promises.
Among the nearly dozen total residents vying to succeed the embattled LaToya Cantrell as leader of the Crescent City are a number of Black New Orleanians with Catholic connections, including 42-year-old State Sen. Royce Duplessis, a member of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church.
“It's great to be home here at Xavier University,” Duplessis said in his opening comments at his alma mater, where he graduated in 2004.
“I'm honored to serve this community. I'm running for mayor because I want to make New Orleans a more affordable city. I want to make New Orleans an easier city to live in.”
During the event, Duplessis was one of several candidates who pointed out dysfunction in city hall, which in recent years has centered around woeful city services and growing controversy surrounding the term-limited incumbent Cantrell. Her federal indictment in August has only added to public consternation ahead of the open primary to determine her successor, with voting scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11.
“It's time to turn the page on the dysfunction and bring in a collaborative style of leadership, a new generation of leadership to solve the problems that are plaguing our beautiful, lovely city,” Duplessis said.
“This is a city of promise. This is a city of beauty. This is a city that's better than what it is right now.”
Duplessis is part of a mostly youthful slate at the top of the ballot, with polls showing a top three of 47-year-old city council member Helena Moreno, Duplessis, and an older Black candidate in 68-year-old city council member Oliver M. Thomas Jr.
Thomas, a veteran of an earlier political era in New Orleans, previously served on the council from 1994 until his resignation over federal bribery charges in 2007. He was reelected in 2021 following a three-year prison sentence. Moreno, a White Latina from Houston, has held a strong lead in all major polls but also faces criticism for a recent political ad likening aspects of the city to a “dumpster fire.”
Eileen Carter—an ex-Catholic and one of two Black candidates running on an independent ticket instead of as a Democrat—repeatedly targeted Moreno during the debate, mostly over the fact that she held prominent city council positions amid the noted decline in public services. Carter has previously criticized city officials more generally—including leading a recall effort against her former boss, Mayor Cantrell—over a perceived lack of concern for the city’s residents.
“They have oversight over every city department,” Carter said, referring to Moreno and other city council members on Tuesday. “So you can have the great ideas now. Why didn't you have them for the past eight years?”
Carter also appeared to hone in on the geographical origins of Moreno, the only mayoral candidate born outside of Louisiana. Moreno moved to New Orleans for work near the turn of the millennium, later transitioning to politics in 2008.
“I believe we need a New Orleanian running our city,” said Carter, later adding that city residents “cannot complain about gentrification and then vote for it.”
Other topics covered in the debate included the need for affordable housing units—which Duplessis noted stands at a deficit in the tens of thousands—as well as the need for more streamlined business permitting, infrastructure maintenance, and public education.
The latter issue has ensnared the city since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city 20 years ago this summer. In the immediate aftermath, the city’s public school system was taken over by the state, eventually leading to an all-charter school system that persisted until 2024.
“We have 1,300 kids who don’t have access to a strong, smart start. We know what happens with that,” said Councilman Thomas, who represents the predominantly Black neighborhoods of the Lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans East. He is one of multiple candidates running on a pledge to open a New Orleans Office of Education.
“It’s not the charters’ responsibility. Our kids are all of our responsibilities.”
“We've had no control or no voice in education, and we saw what happened after Katrina,” added Carter, who expressed criticism of the charter school system. “We’re going to bring that voice back.”
Duplessis went beyond the traditional education emphasis, including comments on the importance of early childhood education—going so far as to commit to universal childcare for children from birth to age 3.
“There is an economic argument to be made, but it's also a moral imperative,” he said. “There should be no reason why we can't achieve this.”
Overall, the debate featured broad agreement on the nuts and bolts of citywide issues, though a rapid fire question on the issue of federal intervention caused a marked split in opinion. President Donald Trump, who has explicitly threatened to send federal troops to New Orleans to address crime, would be welcomed by some candidates but rejected by others.
“If they’re coming, we need not have a frictional relationship,” said Carter, who partnered with Republicans in her effort to recall Mayor Cantrell in 2023.
Duplessis and Thomas referred to the federal plans in terms of their racial optics, with Trump having spoken of sending troops only to a select group of major cities—“Black cities with Black leadership,” according to Duplessis.
“It’s clear that this is political theater. Crime is down in New Orleans.”
Moreno, who began her answer by expressing support for use of the National Guard in disaster relief and crowd control, ultimately said she would support the inflow of federal troops to address crime in New Orleans.
“You know where we do need help? We need additional assistance to get violent offenders off of our streets, to get illegal firearms off of our streets, and to go after the drug dealers,” Moreno said, in contrast to Duplessis and Thomas’ warnings that troops would disproportionately target the Black community.
Voters in majority-Black New Orleans will head to the polls next month to decide who will be their next mayor, with an online registration deadline of Monday, Sept. 20. Early voting begins Saturday, Sept. 27, for the primary, where a candidate will be declared the winner outright if they receive more than 50% of the vote. If not, a runoff/general election would be held between the top two candidates on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
