New Orleans City Council “Smart Cities” lawsuit heads to court

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— The fight continues between the Mayor’s Office and the city council over the New Orleans “Smart Cities” broadband project.

On Thursday afternoon, lawyers for Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the city council debated in civil court with three members of the council present.

The debate started as an issue of the council’s concern over alleged contract rigging but has snowballed into a greater issue over the Mayor’s Office not turning over documents to the city council.

The city council previously subpoenaed the Mayor’s Office to get documents regarding the Smart Cities project and the office had until Wednesday to turn them over. But, the deadline was missed.

Now, the city council wants to hold the mayor’s Chief of Staff, Clinton Davis, in contempt. The Mayor’s Office also hired a private counsel, attorney James Garner, for the hearing which the attorney for the city council called inappropriate and a misuse of taxpayer dollars.

Garner asked the judge to allow the Mayor’s Office to hold off on overturning the documents as they believe it will interfere with the Orleans Inspector General’s investigation into the now-dead Smart Cities deal.

The council’s attorney argued the files need to be turned over as soon as possible, as the council is greatly concerned about potential wrongdoing in the Smart Cities deal.

Ultimately, Judge Nicole Sheppard granted a temporary restraining order (TRO). The hearing is scheduled for June 8 at 9:30 a.m.