NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The New Orleans City Council met Thursday, Aug. 23. with a full agenda.
On the list was the possible override of Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s veto regarding the new rules set stopping her usage of the Pontalba Apartment.
The council voted 5-2 to override Cantrell’s veto on the use of the Pontalba apartment.
Councilman Oliver Thomas again voted against the override, not wanting future mayors to be punished.
“What one elected official does is different from another. All shouldn’t be punished for one,” says Thomas.
“This is clearly a personal vendetta,” says spokesperson Gregory Joseph with the mayor’s office.
Joseph called the decision a grudge the council continues to hold against the mayor, unsure of how they will ever be on good terms.
“This has been an issue because they made it an issue. We have this council that doesn’t want to actually work with the administration. That would rather take time away from pressing issues that face the city of new orleans to act of personal petty politics,” says Joseph.
Council President J.P. Morrell says it was never about a personal vendetta, but her unwilling compliance with the new ordinance regarding city-owned property use that prohibited overnight stays.
“The mayor had plenty of opportunities to say here is how I use the apartment, for what purpose and what the public purpose was. You can use the apartment to bring people there to celebrate the city and not be a personal residence,” says Morrell.
Going forward, the French Market Corporation will rent it out for a fair market price, with no chance of anyone living there for free.
“Anybody sleeping in that apartment going forward has to pay fair market rent. The law is very clear if you take something of value that is theft. If you are an official and take something of fair value it is malfeasance,” says Morrell.
With this decision, the French Market Corporation will now set up potential rental arrangements on who lives it the apartment next.
City officials say they want to allow the French Market Corporation to rent it out for a fair market price.
Back in April, the city council enforced an ordinance prohibiting residential occupancy by anyone at the city-owned apartment. This stems from reports of Cantrell allegedly misusing the French Quarter apartment for events such as Essence Festival and Mardi Gras.
The mayor’s office released a statement on the override.
“This obsession with the Mayor’s appropriate use of the apartment in the Upper Pontalba Building has revealed that certain members of the New Orleans City Council would rather use their legislative powers to pursue personal vendettas than focus on the most pressing issues facing our people today,” said Director of Communications Gregory Joseph.
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