NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Mayor LaToya Cantrell says she isn’t firing her communications director despite the city council’s move to oust him.
The council voted Tuesday to move forward with firing communications director Gregory Joseph, giving Cantrell the option to terminate him, or else, a hearing will be held.
During Wednesday’s press briefing, the mayor condemned the council’s actions.
“Listen, I’m not firing anyone; I’m supporting,” Cantrell said. “I’m supporting a city employee who is now joined, who is now a part of a community of city employees that have been disrespected, villainized, discriminated against.”
Immediately following Cantrell’s press briefing, Morrell held his own briefing to voice his rebuttal.
Council president JP Morrell says Cantrell and Joseph had opportunities to reach a resolution with them but were mostly unresponsive.
“Do we let government exist in dysfunction to spare people’s feelings, or do we hold people to a bare level of accountability? That’s what the council sought to do,” Morrell said.
The request for Joseph’s termination follows the council’s investigation into the into mailers that went out during the mayoral recall effort.
“This council just continues to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money into investigations that continue to yield little to no results at all,” Cantrell said.
Morrell refuted those claims.
“I think it would have been tremendously inappropriate to spend any money, considering we’re doing the investigation of $50,000 of misspent money, so that investigation costs zero dollars,” Morrell said.
Cantrell maintains the flyers were purely educational and informative.
The hearing is scheduled for October 3.
Watch the full conference in the video player above.
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