21 Facts About LaToya Cantrell

LaToya Cantrell is an American politician serving as the Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana since May 7,2018.

LaToya Cantrell moved to New Orleans in 1990 to attend Xavier University of Louisiana, where she earned a BA in sociology.

LaToya Cantrell attended an executive training program at the Harvard Kennedy School.

LaToya Cantrell returned to New Orleans in 1999, settling in the Broadmoor neighborhood.

LaToya Cantrell helped enlist returning Broadmoor residents in a six-month effort to write a recovery plan for the neighborhood.

LaToya Cantrell worked full time to implement Broadmoor's recovery plan from 2006 through 2012.

LaToya Cantrell 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.

LaToya Cantrell 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.

LaToya Cantrell formed a partnership between the Broadmoor Improvement Association and her home parish, Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, to open the Broadmoor Art and Wellness Center.

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.

LaToya Cantrell served out the balance of Head's term, and was unopposed for a full four-year term in 2014.

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.

Also in 2015, LaToya 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.

In 2017, LaToya Cantrell introduced legislation with at-large council member Jason Williams to register and inspect rental units in the city.

LaToya Cantrell declared her candidacy for mayor of New Orleans in March 2017 in a race to replace term-limited mayor Mitch Landrieu.

LaToya Cantrell was inaugurated as mayor on May 7,2018, the first woman to hold the position in the city's history.

LaToya Cantrell founded a Gun Violence Reduction Council, tasked with finding solutions to violent crime.

In 2016, LaToya 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.

LaToya Cantrell's campaign focused on the city's status in 2020 as a COVID-19 hotspot and her efforts, which at times were unpopular, to stop the disease's spread.

LaToya Cantrell stressed the need for higher-paying jobs for city workers, better public health outcomes and new technologies for the future of New Orleans.