Effort to Recall New Orleans Mayor Fails

The effort to gather enough signatures to force a recall election in New Orleans fails to gather enough names to move the process forward. The petition filed has 27,000 valid signatures of registered voters who want to see New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell booted from office. The minimum number of signatures was 45,000.

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Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has confirmed this means he will not be calling a special election for voters to decide if they want Cantrell recalled or not.

Edwards says “I won’t be calling an election, that threshold was not satisfied.” The governor says only about 12% of the qualified voters in Orleans Parish signed the petition. The minimum needed to force an election is 20%.

Cantrell issued a statement Tuesday afternoon thanking New Orleans residents “for trusting in my leadership.”

Thousands of the signatures that were submitted were deemed to be invalid. That means those folks who signed the petition were either not registered voters in Orleans Parish or not registered to vote at all. It could also mean the names signed on the petition don't match the name on the voter registration rolls.

Cantrell's nickname of "Teedy" is now being referenced as "Teflon Teedy" by some in political circles in New Orleans.