Effort to recall New Orleans’ first female mayor fails

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The effort to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has failed. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday the number of valid signatures needed to force a referendum was short by nearly 18,000. Recall efforts against Cantrell, the first woman to serve as New Orleans’ mayor, began last August. She was easily reelected in 2021, but has since faced numerous problems, including violent crime and fitful progress on major street projects. Questions also have been raised about her travel expenses and her personal use of a city-owned apartment. Cantrell has repeatedly criticized the recall effort as a Republican-led attack on the administration of a Black, Democratic woman.