‘Mickey Mouse’ And ‘Shrek’ Signed Failed New Orleans Mayor Recall Petition, Officials Say » 4on4news
Topline A failed petition to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) included tens of thousands of duplicate signatures and at least one full sheet filled with the names of cartoon characters like Fred Flintstone and Shrek, the Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters announced Thursday, weeks after recall organizers held a brass band celebration outside The Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters has announced that a failed petition to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) included tens of thousands of duplicate signatures and at least one full sheet filled with the names of cartoon characters like Fred Flintstone and Shrek. Recall organizers are exploring “all legal options” for validating the petition, while blasting the Advocate newspaper for an alleged attempt to “embarrass elected officials who had the courage to sign.” The petition was filed in August, initially drawing long lines of crowds in white and affluent neighborhoods eager to sign, before momentum appeared to die down. An analysis from the newspaper found more than 75% of signees were white and nearly 30% were Republican, despite less than 10% of New Orleans’ residents belonging to the GOP. Cantrell has denied the allegations.
Publié : il y a 2 ans par News5 dans Business
A failed petition to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) included tens of thousands of duplicate signatures and at least one full sheet filled with the names of cartoon characters like Fred Flintstone and Shrek, the Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters announced Thursday, weeks after recall organizers held a brass band celebration outside New Orleans City Hall saluting what they thought was a successful end to the high-profile effort to gather enough signatures for a recall election.
“They were copied forms, they were not original documents,” Chief Deputy Registrar Danielle Duplessis-Hammond said.
What To Watch For
Recall organizers said in a statement Thursday they are exploring “all legal options” for validating the petition, while also blasting the Advocate newspaper for an alleged attempt to “embarrass elected officials who had the courage to sign.” The news outlet recently reported a judge who oversaw a case to lower the threshold of votes needed to trigger a recall election had signed the petition.
$1.2 million. That’s how much was spent on the recall campaign, almost all contributed by a single Republican donor—businessman Rick Farrell. The amount equals about $44 per valid signature.
The recall petition was filed in August, initially drawing long lines of crowds in white and affluent neighborhoods eager to sign, before momentum appeared to die down. Recall organizers continually claimed they were making solid progress toward forcing a recall election, but they refused to provide evidence backing up their claims and attempted to shield the petition from news outlets even though the document was public record. They ultimately released a portion of their petition to the Times-Picayune after the paper filed a lawsuit, though recall organizers withheld the remainder of signatures the registrar now says were duplicates. An analysis from the newspaper found more than 75% of signees were white—even though the city is majority Black—and nearly 30% were Republican, despite less than 10% of New Orleans’ residents belonging to the GOP. The recall organizers’ grievances included issues like a high crime rate and infrastructure problems but largely centered on the mayor’s personal behavior. Cantrell has faced heavy criticism for using taxpayer money to fund first-class flights and political mailers, while she has more recently been embroiled in allegations she had an affair with a subordinate, which included spending hours with him at a city-owned apartment in the French Quarter in the middle of workdays. Cantrell has denied the allegations.
Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck ‘signatures,’ many duplicate names submitted to recall LaToya Cantrell (Times-Picayune)
LaToya Cantrell recall petitions show sharp divides across New Orleans by race, neighborhood (Times-Picayune)
Les sujets: Louisiana, New Orleans