NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Residents of New Orleans have been voicing their concerns, and it seems the Mayor’s office listened. On Friday morning, the City announced that Mayor Cantrell would not be traveling out of the country this weekend, as originally planned.
The Mayor was planning to attend the climate change meetings at the World Cities Summit, in Singapore. She would have been gone from July 31 to August 3. Instead, the City is sending someone else in her place, to represent New Orleans.
The decision for the Mayor to stay in New Orleans was likely prompted by the concern from the community, and questions from the media about her international travels. Some New Orleans residents have recently expressed concern that the Mayor may be traveling too much.
This trip would have been her third international trip in less than two months. In late June she traveled to Switzerland and in early July she went to France. Both trips were to sign Sister City Agreements. A Sister City Agreement was also signed with Merida, Mexico, earlier in the year, but the Mayor did not travel for this engagement.
In an interview with WBOK, Mayor Cantrell said that it’s “more important to have boots on the ground. The Mayor’s Communication Director, Gregory Joseph, released the following statement on Friday morning:
“Mayor Cantrell has decided to forgo the climate change meetings at the World Cities Summit, and instead embed herself with the NOPD so she can witness firsthand what our officers need in order to increase public safety.
In an interview, he defended her travel, saying, “The Mayor is traveling on behalf of the City. She’s an ambassador to the City. Not just for the cultural economy, but for the entire economy for all of the City.”
He continued, “It’s very important for her to be doing this job. It’s very important for us to be at the table when climate change conversations are happening.”
