LaToya Cantrell

LaToya Cantrell
Born	LaToya Wilder 3 4, 1972
Birthplace	Palmdale, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Title	62nd Mayor of New Orleans
Known for	First woman elected mayor of New Orleans
Education	Xavier University of Louisiana (BA)
Children	1

LaToya Cantrell (née Wilder; born April 3, 1972) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of New Orleans from 2018 to 2026. A member of the Democratic Party, Cantrell made history as the first woman to be elected to the office of mayor in the city's three-hundred-year history. Born in Palmdale, California, Cantrell moved to New Orleans to attend Xavier University of Louisiana and became deeply involved in the civic life of the city, particularly in the years following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Her leadership in the recovery of the Broadmoor neighborhood drew national attention and established her reputation as a community organizer. She served on the New Orleans City Council representing District B from 2012 to 2018 before winning the mayoral race in November 2017. As mayor, Cantrell confronted a range of challenges including infrastructure deterioration, public safety concerns, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She was succeeded by Helena Moreno in January 2026.

Early Life

LaToya Wilder was born on April 3, 1972, in Palmdale, California, a city in the Antelope Valley of northern Los Angeles County. Details about her childhood and family background in California are limited in publicly available records. She relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, to pursue higher education at Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically Black Catholic university located in the city's Gert Town neighborhood.

After completing her education, Cantrell settled permanently in New Orleans and became a resident of the Broadmoor neighborhood, a diverse, middle-class area situated between Uptown and Mid-City. Her decision to remain in the city after college would prove consequential, as her deep ties to Broadmoor positioned her at the center of one of the most significant neighborhood recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Broadmoor was among the New Orleans neighborhoods that suffered severe flooding. In the storm's aftermath, parts of the city were targeted for potential conversion to green space under the controversial "Green Dot Plan," and Broadmoor was among the areas that faced an uncertain future. Cantrell emerged as a leader of the Broadmoor Improvement Association, organizing residents to resist the proposed erasure of their neighborhood and to develop a comprehensive recovery plan. Her grassroots organizing work during this period was documented in various media outlets and academic studies, including coverage by NPR. The Broadmoor recovery effort became a nationally recognized model of community-driven post-disaster rebuilding, and Cantrell's role in that effort was documented in the book We Shall Not Be Moved.

Education

Cantrell attended Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Xavier, founded in 1925 by Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, is the only historically Black Catholic university in the United States. The university has long served as a pipeline for African American professionals in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana. Cantrell's enrollment at Xavier brought her from California to Louisiana, and her time at the university anchored her permanently in the city that would become the center of her civic and political career.

Career

Community Organizing and Broadmoor Recovery

Cantrell's public career began not in elected office but in neighborhood organizing. As president of the Broadmoor Improvement Association, she led the effort to rebuild the Broadmoor neighborhood after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in 2005. The neighborhood, which had flooded with several feet of water, faced the prospect of being converted to green space under initial post-storm planning proposals. Under Cantrell's leadership, Broadmoor residents organized a comprehensive neighborhood recovery plan that attracted partnerships with institutions including Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and other universities and nonprofits.

The Broadmoor recovery effort included the rebuilding of homes, the reopening of the Andrew H. Wilson Charter School, the establishment of a community library, and the creation of various social services for returning residents. The neighborhood's recovery was covered by national media, including NPR, which highlighted the community-driven approach that Cantrell championed. The New York Times also profiled the neighborhood's recovery trajectory.

Cantrell's work in Broadmoor also included public safety initiatives. She helped spearhead the installation of anti-crime cameras in the neighborhood, with a stated goal of having 100 cameras in place to deter criminal activity. Her visibility as a community leader and her success in the Broadmoor rebuilding effort laid the groundwork for her entry into electoral politics.

New Orleans City Council (2012–2018)

In 2012, Cantrell was elected to the New Orleans City Council to represent District B, which encompasses a large swath of Uptown New Orleans and surrounding neighborhoods. She was sworn in on December 19, 2012, succeeding Diana Bajoie.

During her tenure on the City Council, Cantrell focused on several key legislative priorities, including public health, housing policy, criminal justice oversight, and quality-of-life issues for her constituents.

Smoke-Free Ordinance

One of Cantrell's signature legislative achievements on the City Council was the passage of a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance. She introduced legislation to ban smoking in bars, casinos, and other indoor public spaces in New Orleans, a city with a historically permissive culture around smoking in entertainment venues. The proposal generated significant debate given the city's hospitality-driven economy and cultural traditions. In January 2015, the New Orleans City Council passed the smoke-free ordinance, making New Orleans one of the last major American cities to enact such a ban. The ordinance was considered a public health milestone for the city.

Housing and Rental Inspections

Cantrell also advocated for stronger housing regulations, particularly with respect to rental properties. She championed a rental registry and inspection program for the city of New Orleans, which received City Council support. The proposal aimed to improve housing quality standards for renters and to provide the city with better data on its rental housing stock. The measure generated debate among landlords, tenant advocates, and policymakers as they discussed the scope and implementation of the inspections.

Criminal Justice and Public Safety

On the City Council, Cantrell took an active role in criminal justice oversight. Following several high-profile incidents involving children, she and other city and state lawmakers pushed for greater oversight of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and other law enforcement agencies. She also participated in City Council criminal justice committee hearings focused on NOPD staffing levels, which had been a persistent concern in New Orleans due to chronic understaffing in the police department.

Homelessness and the VA Hospital Site

Cantrell supported efforts to address homelessness in New Orleans, including the development of a low-barrier homeless shelter in the city. She was also involved in discussions surrounding the redevelopment of the former Veterans Affairs hospital site in downtown New Orleans, a large tract of land that had been vacant since Hurricane Katrina and was the subject of protracted planning debates.

2017 Mayoral Election

In 2017, Cantrell entered the race to succeed term-limited Mayor Mitch Landrieu. The contest to lead New Orleans attracted a crowded field of candidates. Cantrell drew on her record as a City Council member and her visibility as a community leader in the post-Katrina recovery to build a broad coalition of supporters. In the November 2017 election, Cantrell won the mayoral race, becoming the first woman elected mayor of New Orleans in the city's history. Her victory was covered extensively by local and national media as a historic milestone.

Mayor of New Orleans (2018–2026)

Cantrell was inaugurated as the 62nd mayor of New Orleans on May 7, 2018, succeeding Mitch Landrieu. She inherited a city grappling with persistent challenges including aging infrastructure, violent crime, economic inequality, and the complex politics of development and cultural preservation in one of America's most distinctive cities.

Infrastructure and Governance

As mayor, Cantrell oversaw efforts to address New Orleans' notoriously deteriorated infrastructure, including its roads, water and sewer systems, and drainage apparatus managed by the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans. The city's drainage system, a frequent source of flooding during heavy rains, remained a major focus of public concern throughout her administration.

Intergovernmental Relations

Cantrell engaged in negotiations with the state government on several fronts. In one notable instance, she reached a "fair share" agreement with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on an issue of fiscal importance to the city. The relationship between the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana has historically been complicated by differences in political orientation and competition over revenue.

Controversies

Cantrell's tenure as mayor was not without controversy. Her administration faced scrutiny on multiple fronts, including questions about governance, spending, and travel. Media reports examined various aspects of her conduct in office, generating public debate about accountability and transparency.

End of Tenure

Cantrell served as mayor until January 12, 2026, when she was succeeded by Helena Moreno. Her tenure of nearly eight years encompassed two terms and covered a period of significant upheaval for the city, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing challenges of crime, housing affordability, and infrastructure.

Personal Life

Cantrell is a resident of New Orleans who has lived in the city since her college years at Xavier University of Louisiana. She has one child. She is known by the nickname "Teedy," a term of endearment in New Orleans vernacular. She settled in the Broadmoor neighborhood, where her community organizing work began, and has been publicly associated with the area throughout her career.

Recognition

In January 2016, while still serving on the City Council, Cantrell received a lifetime achievement award, recognizing her contributions to public service and community development in New Orleans.

Her election as the first female mayor of New Orleans in 2017 was itself a widely noted milestone in the city's political history. New Orleans, founded in 1718, had been led exclusively by men for nearly three centuries before Cantrell's election. Her victory was covered by media outlets across the country and was noted as part of a broader trend of women winning mayoral races in major American cities during the 2017 election cycle.

Cantrell's work in the post-Katrina recovery of the Broadmoor neighborhood has been cited in academic and journalistic accounts of disaster recovery, including the book We Shall Not Be Moved, which documented the community's resistance to being erased from the city's recovery plans and its subsequent rebuilding. The Broadmoor recovery model has been studied by urban planners, disaster recovery specialists, and public policy researchers.

Cantrell has appeared on C-SPAN in connection with her role as mayor.

Legacy

LaToya Cantrell's place in New Orleans history is defined first and foremost by her status as the first woman to serve as mayor of one of America's oldest and most culturally significant cities. Her path from community organizer in a flood-ravaged neighborhood to the highest office in city government reflected a post-Katrina political trajectory in which grassroots recovery work served as a springboard to elected leadership.

Her legislative work on the City Council, particularly the smoke-free ordinance and the rental inspection registry, represented policy shifts that altered daily life in New Orleans. The smoke-free ordinance, in particular, marked a cultural change for a city long associated with permissive attitudes toward smoking in bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues.

As mayor, Cantrell governed during a period of overlapping crises—infrastructure failures, public safety challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic—that tested the capacity of city government. Her administration's handling of these issues generated both support and criticism, and the full assessment of her mayoral tenure will continue to be shaped by subsequent developments in the city.

Her earlier work in the Broadmoor neighborhood remains among the most documented examples of community-led post-disaster recovery in the United States and has contributed to broader discussions about the role of local residents in shaping the rebuilding of their communities after catastrophic events.