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Meet New Orleans’ ‘LaToya the Destroya’; The Worst Mayor in America
Ever hear of “Weaponized Governmental Failure”? Although we are all inundated with daily reports of generalized governmental and societal collapse, I had not heard it referred to in this manner until I read an excellent column at Spectator.org titled “This Woman is the Worst Mayor in America.” She’s a person who, from all outward appearances, is doing her dead-level best to destroy whatever potential New Orleans had (the city of my birth, so I have a personal feeling about what is happening there) before she took over the wrecking ball operation. Here she is with the regalia to which she apparently feels she is entitled:
Here’s the way this depraved offshoot of Marxism is described by the author:
Simply put, it’s the process by which urban socialist Democrats intentionally muck up the basic tasks of municipal governance and create such soul-crushing environments that middle-class taxpayers and voters decamp for the suburbs, thus leaving an electorate incapable of throwing off the political machine.
My theory is that Weaponized Governmental Failure, or WGF for short, was arrived upon serendipitously. At some point in the 1990s, Democrats noticed that some of their worst mayors — like Washington, D.C.’s Marion Barry — were simply unbeatable despite dismal performances.
And, at that point, it became recognizable to urban socialist Democrats that if you governed badly enough, if you refused to fill potholes or police the streets or solve traffic problems or provide functional public education, the middle-class voters who would consider voting Republican and therefore could put your political power at threat would just … leave.
And when they left, what remained would be a thin crust of rich people relatively easy to govern because they provide their own public services in the form of private school attendance for their children, private security for their neighborhoods, and so forth.
Oh, and a mass of urban poor who would also be easy to govern — at least, in the manner urban socialists like to govern. The votes of the poor can be bought cheaply because they don’t know any better. Tear down statues, offer “universal basic income” or free needles or midnight basketball, and you can fleece the poor into believing that you care. They don’t really expect anything better and they wouldn’t even know what that looks like.
So for the last 20–30 years as every single American city dominated by Democrat politicians has decayed into a state of collapse, Democrats have only built their electoral strength in those places.
It isn’t incompetence, though it looks like it is. It’s deliberate. Because federal dollars from things like economic development block grants replace the tax base lost through WGF exoduses.
And when WGF reaches an advanced state, what you get isn’t even something that looks like incompetence. It starts to get brazen.
It starts looking like New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Examples of the Wreckage She Is Leaving in her Wake
It is hard to sum up in mere words the depths to which this woman has gone in what certainly appears to be a deliberate effort to destroy “The City That Care Forgot,” but here are a few recent examples:
- The NOPD needs 2,000 active-duty officers—it is down to 500 and that number is steadily dropping. This problem was graphically illustrated recently when an officer assigned to duty in the French Quarter quit in the middle of his shift as it had become too dangerous and there was little or no backup available.
- The city has only about 60% of its EMS personnel slots filled.
- There are well founded concerns that the ability to provide adequate security for the next Mardi Gras, that universally known and increasingly dangerous street party on “Fat Tuesday” of each year, may impact the ability of the city to put on this function, most important to many in the city, this year.
- She has announced, in her inimitable lawless, in-your-face manner, that she will refuse to abide by the state’s new law banning abortion.
- She hangs out in bars creating televised public disturbances — some just dives and one scene taking place in the lounge of The Windsor Court, one of the city’s most luxurious hotels – including one such pushing and shoving match with a woman in a restroom at a rap concert.
- She persists in going on obscenely expensive foreign trips at a time when the city’s murder rate is on track to be one of the highest in the world— that is, as it really should be repeated— in the world. More on this below.
Nice Work If You Can Get It, Chapter 1
Before turning to the coup de grace of her arrogance and tone deafness, we need to take a closer look at her love of travel to beautiful, exotic foreign climes — who doesn’t, of course, especially when someone else, the taxpayer, is footing the bill— at the most inopportune time possible, as the city she took an oath to serve as its Mayor disintegrates into a steaming mass of junk, potholes, murders, carjackings, etc. To illustrate the brazenness of her attitude with just one fact, the airfare alone for her recent trip to France (via First Class, of course! For her personal safety, she claimed, utterly shamelessly) — cost taxpayers over $18,000! As she took three aides with her, a real royal entourage for a city that is headed for the dung heap rapidly, the trip cost a total of $43,000. But, wait! There’s more!
Nice Work If You Can Get It, Chapter 2
The excursion to France followed closely on the heels of a trip that Cantrell and two staffers took to Ascona, Switzerland, on June 25, to attend that city’s jazz festival and sign another sister city agreement. That trip cost City Hall more than $16,600 for airfare and lodging, records show.
Nice Work If You Can Get It, Chapter 3
Wait! Don’t go away! There’s even more and this one may set the record for everything the word hubris stands for:
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is scheduled to take another trip overseas just days after city council members took steps to restrict her spending on travel.
The mayor’s office says she’s heading to Singapore for a week to attend the “World Cities Summit,” which begins this weekend.
Her office says the summit will focus on challenges facing urban communities, such as climate change.
Last week, two New Orleans council members introduced a proposed ordinance to restrict travel expenses for officials. It would apply to “non-essential trips,” including trips for festivals and sister city agreements.
One is left to wonder, with just cause, whether there will be anything left in the already-diminished treasury of the city if this kind of truly insane spending cannot be curbed by some authority; the City Council seems to be making a lot of speeches and putting out many stern sounding press releases and yet, as the current Beltway buzz phrase goes, “she persists!”
The Coup de Grâce, or Has She Finally Gone Too Far Even for New Orleans?
The most stunning act of sheer, unadulterated arrogance with clearly defined racial messaging, which I say with full knowledge that one is not supposed to say that last part out loud —just one of the many laudable features of having one’s own blog— took place a couple of weeks ago in Juvenile Criminal Court, as described here:
But the piece de resistance, the coup de grace, for Cantrell came last week in a juvenile criminal court.
In an amazing moment, Cantrell showed up to sit with the family of a carjacker who had been found guilty of first-degree robbery. The kid was 13 years old, and he’d been involved in five separate carjackings. Somehow, the district attorney’s office dropped the charges down from armed robbery but secured convictions.
And as the victims, who were mostly (if not all) white women, including one who’s a college student at ultra-expensive Loyola University, read their impact statements, Cantrell looked at them from the front seats.
Then the judge, a Democrat named Renord Darensburg, pronounced sentence:
Three years, suspended. No jail for carjacking and pointing guns at women.
It’s something like a declaration of war, or at least it’s being taken that way by the suburban folks. There have been rumblings about having the state legislature void New Orleans’ home rule charter, inserting the state police into the city to bring it under control, and other actions.
Of course, there is little anyone can do about LaToya Cantrell. Weaponized Governmental Failure is such a smashing success in New Orleans that despite the city’s descent into lawlessness and dysfunction which is so complete that even James Carville, the discredited old Democrat regular who has been afforded status as its unofficial political mascot, has recently bemoaned its poor condition, no one of note ran against Cantrell last year.
She won reelection with some 65 percent of the vote against a cast of unserious challengers.
New Orleans’ electorate has been so degraded by “white flight,” which is a misnomer because the black middle class has hustled out of Orleans Parish just as quickly as the white middle class has, that the city is no longer capable of electing someone any better than LaToya Cantrell.
As I was about to draft the conclusion to this tragic tale of what the Far Left is doing to our once great cities — New Orleans, San Francisco, Chicago, all at one time not very long ago superb cities to visit — I came upon an item which must be added. It so perfectly describes the enormity and terror of the crime this poor little, disadvantaged, under represented, blah, blah, blah criminal “youth” inflicted upon these victims. It was in the form of a message posted on Facebook by the sister of one of the victims, which gives a rare insight into what it’s like to experience what the victims of the five — FIVE — carjackings this “youth” took part in. I have set it out verbatim without any attempt at editing or modification as these are words of real victimhood. Here it is:
I don’t usually post stuff like this, typically my opinions are kept to myself. After today, I feel it imperative for people to know just how disgustingly distraught our justice system is.
Almost a year ago, my 19 year old sister came home from school at Loyola University, pulled in her driveway, put the car in park, went to exit and looked up to see a gun in her face. She was robbed at gun point by 3 juvenile males. They stole her car and everything in it, then totaled it.
One male was found the other two have not.
But the one that was found was the one whom “technically” robbed her and did all of the dirty work. He was arrested, bonded out shortly after…. This was not his first offense, second, or third….Matter of fact just Madison was his 5th victim of JUST this particular offense.
And a month ago was found GUILTY of all charges that were brought against him. Which were initially Armed robbery but it was lessened to 1st degree robbery. (Yes you read that correctly it was lessened).
The day of the verdict, instead of incarceration, he was given an ankle monitor until today. 30 days in between these court dates.
Today was his sentencing. Today we were surprised to walk in and see our LOVELY MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL in attendance. Verified by the DA that she was not in relation to the criminal whatsoever and did not know them. She decided she would sit and console the family members of this criminal while she and the rest of the court room listened to not just Madison but 5 other women give their victim impact statements before the court.
Yes, she sat and patted the back of this criminal while the VICTIMS sat on the other side of the room and SOBBED recalling their encounters. The issues these women now have are LIFELONG the damage he has done to all of these women is irreparable. The boy stood up when asked to by the judge, the judge asked if he had anything he’d like to say to these victims before he gave his sentence.
He replied “Nah.”
The judge proceeded to state how he felt like even though it was not his first offense, and even though he robbed all of these women at gun point that he should not be given the maximum sentence and that he’d be better off monitored at home by family. That our youth will not learn their lesson by having to go to jail.
Our ever so amazing mayor happily nodded in agreement with the judge then walked out. The judge proceeded to give his very impactful sentence of PROBATION, with the option of it being lessened if he gets a job, or goes to college…. (Straight out of the judges mouth)
I’m sorry, what?!….. a REPEAT OFFENDER, whom had ROBBED over 5 women at gun point, carjacked them, over hundreds of thousands of dollars in physical damages and lets not talk about the mental and emotional damage he’s caused, who listened to his victims state how he has destroyed their lives and wasn’t the least bit remorseful…. gets PROBATION! And this folks, is called JUSTICE! What in the actual BEEEEEEEP!?! This city is already gone down the drain, and I knew the justice system was bad but THIS…. THIS IS absolutely APPALLING. New Orleans will be a 3rd world country before we know it.
Contempt for the City She Took an Oath to Defend and Protect
The final words of another piece discussing this miserable excuse for a public official best sums up the entire sad, tragic, destructive dilemma facing New Orleans at the present time:
A mayor worth having wouldn’t be going anywhere else right now. A mayor worth having would be doing everything she could to right the ship at the NOPD. She’d be on a crash recruiting program for new officers, trying to poach them from surrounding parishes. She’d be asking the governor to send state police and even national guard to stabilize the out of control crime rate in the city. She’d be trying to organize neighborhood watch groups so folks could protect their homes and neighborhoods from criminals.
And she’d be on a listening tour of small businesses all over the city.
Instead she’s going to Singapore to be wined and dined by Third World kleptocrats and left-wing nonprofit toadies and fraudsters.
Contempt is the only word which describes this. LaToya Cantrell has so much contempt for the citizens of New Orleans it’s breathtaking. She’s the Marie Antoinette of weaponized governmental failure, and she’s got three more years to finish off the Big Easy.
It’s hard to imagine New Orleans recovering.
We can only hope the author is wrong, especially those of us with ties to this place of myth, history, beauty, Mardi Gras, Tennessee Williams and that famous streetcar, Galatoire’s and Antoine’s, and the inimitable French Quarter. But, from all the evidence, his prognosis seems to be spot on.
Mark one more victory for the destroyers of the Far Left and, of course, for LaToya the Destroya.
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Why have I never heard of this witch before? She sounds special.
Depends on what the meaning of “special “ is!
I totally admire the descriptive energy of the phrase “Weaponized Governmental Failure”, but it’s officially called “The Curley Effect”.
Check out my recent post Saving Our Cities.
The Curley Effect: The Economics of Shaping the Electorate
The Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization
Edward L. Glaeser, Andrei Shleifer (Both with Harvard and the National Bureau of Economic Research)
Abstract:
Incredible. Chicago, New York, Baltimore. Name a major city in America and it’s a story of breakdown and governmental corruption.
And the political leaders are living the high life…
Great job Jim; even if it is depressing as h*ll.
“Even after the Super Bowl victory of the New Orleans Saints, I have noticed a large number of people implying, with bad jokes, that Cajuns aren’t smart. I would like to state for the record that I disagree with that assessment. Anybody that would build a city 5 feet below sea level in a hurricane zone and fill it with Democrats who can’t swim is a genius.” – Larry The Cable Guy
P.S. You may want to correct the title. I’m pretty sure nobody anywhere is named Layoya.
Something bad is going on with leftist light-skinned blacks in America. Now before everybody freaks out, let me say that I think it’s cultural and not racial. Nigerians who talk funny and are so black that they are nearly purple do just fine in the U.S.A. They are too busy succeeding at business and education to really be concerned about leftism. Same with East-Asians. But constantly, I notice light-skinned black Americans just running like Jesse Owens into the brick wall of failed leftist policies.
I’m thinking something might be there.
My first estimate would probably violate the CoC.
Please quote me after I fixed all my spelling errors.
Also, try to have some grace and forbearance. Never lie and never dodge what is True but please speak politely.
I will know when New Orleans has finally gone round the bend. When M.S. Rau Antiques decamps for Florida. They have daily ads in the Wall Street Journal, and their stock of truly interesting items lures me in every time. I look forward to seeing what they have new. They are located in the French Quarter, and their items are extremely expensive; I would expect that if they were robbed, they would lose millions.
Same if they get flooded (again?).
These are fairly diverse groups, like most groups. For example, here is an interview with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a very successful Nigerian writer who lives in America. From which:
But she also says stuff you probably wouldn’t agree with, so trigger warning.
(The mayor sounds like a trip – or like an updated version of DC’s Marion Barry of Cocaine Bust fame.)
Current DC mayor Bowser is no prize either.
Or Lori Lightfoot.
This is a shocking abuse of power, but I can’t think of any mechanism with which to address it.
Other than the ballot box.
Assuming there actually is one.
Or Ted Wheeler
Openly corrupt, dysfunctional politicians being re-elected out of group loyalty is not new nor a novel Marxist phenomenon. The Boston Irish re-elected James Michael Curley while he was in jail.
Also, Louisiana and New Orleans in particular have a rather unique flair for corruption. Gov. Edward Edwards was once asked by reporters if he received a suitcase full of cash while in Las Vegas meeting with gambling interests seeking to set up riverboat casinos. He replied that “suitcase” was an exaggeration– it was just a briefcase.
The new twist to corrupt urban politics is that there is no ethos of public service. Mayor Daly famously got the streets snowplowed quickly. In contrast, in DC, only the route from Mayor Barry’s house to his office in the District building was plowed right away (or at all).
Corrupt pols in Boston, NY, Chicago, and elsewhere could get your unemployed brother-in-law a city job in exchange for campaign support. There was a sense that the machine would take care of business–fiscally corrupt but functional. The people would tolerate discrete, proportionate graft in exchange for functional government, clean streets, working mass transportation, responsive service agencies, and police and emergency protection.
That traditional bargain has been broken. We are approaching Third World conditions in cities in which persons in power do what they want, steal what they want and there is no accountability.
I made this reference to Marxism as I was struck by the similarity between this idea – Weaponized Governmental Failure – and the teachings of Hillary’s role model, Saul Alinsky, which were, as I understand it, pure Marxism in action.
He was many things, one of which was: he was a clear genius and would have gotten away with everything had it not been for a combination of a very ambitious US Attorney and a very, very strict Judge, Judge Polozola, who did not, to put it mildly, think Edwards’ capers were at all amusing. So one start difference in his situation and the one before us involving Hillary, Comey, McCabe, Sztrok, Page, Brennan, Clapper, Clinesmith, etc., etc., is that not one single person responsible for the greatest hoax in American history has been held accountable– not even a lawyer who forged a document in a Court record. As a lawyer, that one is the most egregious of all.
Anyone who has the least doubt that some of our cities have turned into Third World cities-or worse!- should pay a visit to New Orleans. However, anyone taking that advice should be forewarned: be sure to bring a bullet proof vest if you plan to stroll the French Quarter which not long ago was a place of merriment and great food and too much drinking (been there, done that), and all the delights of hedonism one could possibly desire. LaToya the Destroya has done a real job on “her” city. It is the misfortune of the wealthy and middle-class that they are picking up the tab, not (perish the thought!) LaToya or her loyal sycophants.
I always say follow the money. Don’t want to lock up a 13 year old? Somebody was getting cash for the stolen vehicles. Somebody took possession of the carjack loot. Nail that guy to the wall. And anyone who helped him. Can’t turn a stolen car into cash without support.
Sadly I’ve seen the gradual deterioration of the city I called home for my first 30 years, and it is discouraging. The theory holds that the pendulum will swing back, but I don’t see how that can happen when the police are under a microscope and DAs refuse to do their jobs.
A couple of days ago, two punks aged 14 and 15 shot the
Redskins‘ 3rd round pick rookie running back who would have likely become a starter this year. Broad daylight. They stole a car and left it across the border in PG County. Is DC descending into becoming another Minneapolis? (Imagine saying that 30 years ago when Minnesota was the archetypal good government state.)Democratic mayors…Democratic mayors.
I’m guessing the money is more institutional than that. Likely redirected from federal programs, Soros, an enemy nation, perhaps China, money-laundered through the numerous non-profits.
For example, let’s say you’d like to take out a major city in an enemy nation. One way is to bomb it and send in troops and tanks. But that’s messy; it costs money, there are logistics issues, people gonna get hurt, something could go terribly wrong, and the nation will likely retaliate militarily. Not good.
Or alternatively, you could just pay off the city administration to do… what we’re seeing.
One wonders what dirt the mayor has on that judge.
He probably just doesn’t want “peaceful protestors” showing up at his house with torches and pitchforks.
She’s awful. Everyone in the city knows it, too. We’ll see if the citizens are more willing to suffer even a slight rightward shuffle more than violent crime. I was at Loyola during the early Landrieu years and got BOLO emails constantly about attacks on students. I suppose the crime has moved East of the campus if Carville’s starting to complain. It’s in his neighborhood now. (I used to see him on runs through the campus.) If robberies in opulent Uptown are enough to get the people to halt their waving at James, if only for long enough to pretend to worry about the people a tenth of a mile away… well, I guess I won’t say I’m for it.
I’ve wondered for more than a decade if people in my city will ever decide they deserve better. I still can’t make heads or tails of it.
Hasn’t New Orleans – and perhaps Louisiana in general – been operating under the Curley Effect for quite a while already? Seems like people only move there if they’re okay with that kind of nonsense, and those who aren’t have likely departed long ago.
I remember when @roblong announced he was moving to New Orleans, and how quickly he turned up in New York City instead.
Obviously we need more gun control. We shouldn’t be issuing concealed carry permits to 13-year olds.
Let us hope that the next two people to have their cars stolen are that judge and the mayor.
You might be right. There is a recall petition floating around, though. Fingers crossed!
That’s the problem with the Curley Effect, though. By now most of those who would have voted to recall, might have already left.
Yeah. I’m not exactly holding my breath.
But while I’m reaching for silver linings: I think New Orleans lives on common sense more than cities in California or the Northeast corridor.