These guides have been produced lovingly and carefully since 2014 by a group of individuals who seek to confront the existing lack of accountability in the branches of Louisiana government, and in the election process more generally.
Vote early and vote often! If you are registered and don’t care, please find someone who is currently incarcerated, on parole, undocumented, or otherwise disenfranchised from voting, but wants their opinions heard. You can vote for their interests.
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And we’re back, voters of Orleans Parish! Just when you thought you’d done your civic duty already, along comes another run-off election. This November 18th, we’re choosing—for real this time!—our State Treasurer, a Civil District Judge, Mayor, and two City Councilmembers, in addition to deciding on a financial management proposition and a whole bunch of so-called security district propositions. Allons voter, mes amis!
TREASURER
Derrick Edwards (Democrat)
John Schroder (Republican)
You might be wondering, What does the State Treasurer do? In our understanding, the jobholder is kind of like the Monopoly banker: Responsible for overseeing the State’s cashflow, the Treasurer monitors public investments, debts, and payouts to various government entities. (The Treasurer also manages the “unclaimed property” registry, which is a fun place to search for secret money you never knew you had!) Importantly, the Treasurer is a non-voting, elected State official who can use the position’s platform to advocate for or against various fiscal policy measures as they are debated in the legislature and executive branch. In short, the Treasurer can broadcast a weighty opinion on issues such as university tuition hikes, but is not actually accountable to any member of the public concerning how the issues are resolved. This is why a Treasurer candidate’s political views are important.
Lone Democrat Derrick Edwards made it to the run-off for State Treasurer despite lacking the endorsement of the Democratic establishment (though they finally granted it—without financial backing—on October 28), doing much campaigning, or soliciting any donations. His main campaign theme is that Louisiana residents “pay the highest sales tax in the United States with little to show for it.” Edwards aims to “stop cuts to education, health care and wasteful government spending,” touting his dual degrees in accounting and law. He proposes greater transparency in government spending, aiming to make State budgetary matters accessible to Louisiana taxpayers, particularly those of the middle class and working class.
Quadriplegic from a high school football accident, Edwards works as a motivational speaker. He claims that his ability to overcome adversity in life makes him well-suited to bringing accountability and transparency to the Treasurer’s office. He is currently appealing a $2,100 late penalty for his campaign finance report on the grounds that he did not have access to the voice-activated software necessary for filing the report.
He faces Republican challenger John Schroder, a real estate developer and nine-year veteran of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Covington. Schroder’s main goal is to cut the State budget and save the State’s bond rating. In 2016, Schroder sponsored the creation of the Task Force on Structural Changes in Budget and Tax Policy panel, whose proposals aimed at strengthening the State’s finances were almost entirely ignored in the legislature this year.
With a 100% rating from Louisiana Right to Life and a 90% rating from the Louisiana Family Forum, Schroder led the charge in the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee to defer then-Representative Helena Moreno’s 2011 proposal to permit adoptions by homosexual couples. This year, in accordance with a conspiracy theory propagated against Planned Parenthood, he sponsored legislation to prohibit the sale of organs and tissues of aborted fetuses. His name is also on legislation as far-ranging as a commendation for Mardi Gras King Blaine Kern’s 90th birthday, and the removal of derogatory language towards deaf people in the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure.
In a race with very few campaign donations, Schroder raised more than all six of his opponents put together. With 14% voter turnout across the state, Schroder barely beat out fellow Republicans Angele Davis by less than 3 points and Neil Riser by less than 6. Schroder is considered likely to win this run-off.
Summary: It’s hard to know who’s most qualified for this particular position, but Schroder’s conservative legislative track record gives us pause. Edwards will likely be a better representative of the people’s interests.
JUDGE CIVIL DISTRICT COURT DIVISION J
Omar Mason (Democrat)
Nicole Sheppard (Democrat)
Civil District Court is where matters like child support, divorce, foreclosure, and unemployment are adjudicated.There are sometimes trials, as many of you civic heroes may already know. (Trust us, the Yelp reviews for CDC jury duty are worth it.)
In this race, two little-known lawyers compete for the position vacated by Paula Brown, who is now an Appeals Court justice.
Business attorney Omar Mason is the preferred candidate of the New Orleans Bar Association membership, a fact that he refers to repeatedly in his campaign materials and appearances. He has represented the gaming industry as well as defendants in asbestos claims.
Television talk show host, attorney, and college professor Nicole Sheppard ran unsuccessfully for Orleans Parish Traffic Court in 2013, though she was able to establish the first (and hugely popular) Traffic Court Violation Amnesty Day. She promotes HIV-testing among religious communities in New Orleans. Sheppard also organizes an annual conference on domestic violence, and volunteers pro bono legal services to individuals seeking expungements of criminal records.
Summary: In a race between someone who defends companies being sued for asbestos poisoning (Mason), and someone who organizes Traffic Court Violation Amnesty Day (Sheppard), we go for the Amnesty Day.
MAYOR
LaToya Cantrell (Democrat)
Desiree Charbonnet (Democrat)
This mayoral run-off race pits two herstory-making leaders, each angling to become the first Black woman mayor of New Orleans (about time!).
Campaign rhetoric suggests LaToya Cantrell, New Orleans City Councilmember representing District B, is the progressive candidate of the two. Meanwhile, Desiree Charbonnet, former Chief Judge of Municipal Court, and the major campaign fundraiser in this race, suffered a great loss of voter confidence following negative attacks by two PACs: one a group of monied out-of-towners and white business elites, and another exclusively representing the vitriol of Sidney Torres IV, infuriated by Charbonnet’s refusal to participate in his personal televised candidate debate.
Many of Cantrell’s supporters tout her responsiveness to community concerns as a main reason for her endorsement. In particular, Congress of Day Laborers/Congreso de Jornaleros appreciate Cantrell for writing the Welcoming City resolution and the City Council resolution that requests Sheriff Gusman end ICE holds for unauthorized immigrants.
During a recent Congreso vigil held at Charbonnet’s campaign offices, attendees were frustrated that Charbonnet’s campaign manager appeared only to release a campaign statement supporting immigrants. Charbonnet herself has never specifically addressed this issue in person.
Yet Cantrell has not always been accessible as a City Councilmember, on matters both large and small. For example, in 2016, when members of Jefferson Parish law enforcement killed Eric Harris in District B, Cantrell not only neglected to take a leadership position regarding an independent investigation, but was supremely unresponsive to grassroots efforts to push her in this direction. She has also been demure on issues of public health, showing up for relevant press conferences but declining to commit to tangible follow-up action. Her legislative record has also been particularly inhumane to people living on the streets of New Orleans: In 2014, Cantrell introduced an ordinance that empowered the City to conduct widespread “sweeps” of encampments, raising constitutional concerns among legal experts. Her more recent “not-in-my-backyard” deferral policy with the City’s planned low-barrier shelter also stirred controversy.
But when it comes to campaigning, Cantrell has taken the reins from Charbonnet among liberal supporters. Cantrell has responded favorably to campaign questionnaires from the community advocate groups European Dissent, Know Your Vote NOLA, and Step Up Louisiana, while Charbonnet did not respond at all.
Cantrell’s campaign chest is lighter on funds than Charbonnet’s, but she has legions of phone bankers and social media makers on her side. She won the majority of the vote in the primary, dominating in districts that make up Richard Campanella’s “white teapot” map of the city (the “kettle” being the concentrated areas around the Audubon Park, Carrollton, and University neighborhoods and the “spout” hugging the river from the Garden District to Bywater). In the run-off, she’s likely to earn even more of Uptown and East New Orleans, areas that voted for Frank Stewart-favored Michael Bagneris, who has endorsed Cantrell in the run-off. Her neoliberal policies in favor of short term rentals, ridesharing corporations, and national chain stores are appealing to seemingly most voters of the New New Orleans.
The nine percent lead that Cantrell had over Charbonnet in the primary may have been influenced by social media ads, direct mail, and TV commercials primarily aimed at white voters and sponsored by business elites. As the New Orleans Tribune points out in a recent editorial, those ads tagged Charbonnet as “corrupt” because of her affiliation with behind-the-scenes political players, who are mostly unfamiliar to the public but veterans of local politics. Let it be noted that Charbonnet has faced zero corruption allegations during her combined 20 years as Municipal Court Judge and Parish Recorder of Mortgages.
Sure, Desiree Charbonnet’s campaign strategy has been miscalculated, especially when it comes to accepting the endorsements of the Fraternal Order of the Police and DA Leon Cannizzaro (who is facing a lawsuit from the ACLU and the Civil Rights Corps on behalf of crime victims’ rights group Silence Is Violence and six people who received “fake subpoenas” or spent time in jail as witnesses).
Public defenders, social workers, and politicos alike extol Charbonnet for her compassion and respect for defendants in her Municipal Court. As judge, she developed diversion programs for people with mental health and substance use issues, and for people arrested on prostitution charges. “I’m always looking for ways to divert non-violent offenders from the criminal justice system,” she told WWNO in 2016. “Over the years I’ve not seen that having any kind of a positive effect on crime or on their lives, either.”
Bill Quigley, law professor and Director of the Law Clinic and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University New Orleans, has supported her campaign: “It would be very exciting for our community [to elect] a woman born in New Orleans… who has experience trying to come up with creative solutions to poverty and the criminal justice system.” Former mayoral candidate and community advocate Hashim “Mayor for the Millenials” Walters has also thrown his support to Charbonnet.
As voters and advocates, the biggest question in any election may be, “Which candidate do I prefer to engage on the issues that are important to me?” or, in more cynical moments, “Which mayor would be most receptive to the rallies and protests of my community?”
In this race, we believe either candidate could be just fine. Indeed, they have the same or similar platform positions on most major issues, with Cantrell pulling a little heavier on supporting the “development” side of things.
Cantrell often says what her audience wants to hear, but her actions have shown a lack of follow-through with the legitimate concerns of community members. Indeed, her job as Councilmember has primed her to respond to public discourse in a way that Charbonnet’s judicial post has not. The recent revelation about Cantrell’s misuse of her City credit card speaks to a lack of accountability to public funds and, by extension, public trust.
Charbonnet has treated defendants in court with respect and dignity, but her campaign lacks responsiveness to grassroots-based concerns, in particular, those pertaining to the status of our immigrant communities. She has been unfairly attacked by—in the words of the Tribune—“the ire of rich, shadowy folk,” despite there being essentially “no substantial differences in [the mayoral candidates’] ability to govern fairly, honestly and with integrity.”
Summary: We’re interested in engaging Desiree Charbonnet on the issues that are important to us because we don’t like how LaToya Cantrell has acted in her role as City Councilmember. We are also suspicious of the motives and moneyed interests behind the anti-Charbonnet attack ads.
COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT B
Jay H. Banks (Democrat)
Seth Bloom (Democrat)
Criminal defense attorney Seth Bloom earned the most in campaign donations this election cycle. Some of his financial support came from fracking company Helis Oil & Gas, the law firm of short-term rental attorney Bob Ellis, and several Bourbon Street stripclubs.
Though he attributes his fundraising success to the relationships he built while serving on the Orleans Parish School Board, Bloom came under attack for his low attendance at school board meetings. His detractors argue that Bloom is a bad actor when it comes to the issues that affect Black youth. Like that of his mentor Woody Koppel, Bloom’s tenure on the school board furthered the hostile, anti-community takeover of public education by charter school boards (they’re awful).
Bloom has come out in favor of alternatives in criminal justice, claiming his own experience with opioid addiction has given him a unique perspective on the War on Drugs: “If you get caught with crack cocaine once, twice or 10 times, Angola is not the place for you. Rehab is the place for you,” he has said.
Jay H. Banks, meanwhile, is Director of the Dryades YMCA, and he has a holistic view on how to support youth. He favors investing resources in a high quality standard of living for children and families, including help for single mothers, safe child care, equal pay for women, and addressing domestic violence.
Banks plans to address gentrification head-on, suggesting a freeze on property tax assessments at the time of home purchase. This would prevent the inflation of taxes on the homes of low-income individuals who live in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. “The culture doesn’t come from the food, it doesn’t come from the music, it doesn’t come from the architecture,” Banks said. “It comes from the people who cook the food, who play the music, who build the houses.”
Banks is backed by Black Organization for Leadership Development (BOLD) and politicians Gov. John Bel Edwards, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, and U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond. The 2016 Zulu King, he is a Democratic Committee representative, member of the civil rights base New Zion Baptist Church, and an active Shriner and Prince Hall Mason, which partnered with the NAACP on voting rights and desegregation.
In response to his opponent’s campaign war chest, Banks stated: “What we don’t have in his money, we do have in a proven track record and a history of community service, and a demonstrated history of helping people in this community.”
Summary: Bloom has been too slippery on schools for us to trust him with the rest of our City. Banks seems OK.
COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT E
James A. Gray II (Democrat)
Cyndi Nguyen (Democrat)
Incumbent James Gray and Cyndi Nguyen are in the running for this district that represents New Orleans East and Lower 9th Ward. Cyndi Nguyen recently completed a three-year Community Leadership Fellowship with the Kellogg Foundation, and has earned many accolades for her community service. She received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, was named Woman of the Year 2016 by New Orleans CityBusiness, Champion of Minority Business in 2014 by the Small Business Administration (SBA), and Champion for Children by the Children’s Trust Fund in 2008. Nguyen has said “she loves the community and wants to learn how to transfer leadership and community skills to younger generations.”
Many complain we haven’t seen any strong leadership in current Councilmember Gray. His law license was suspended once, and faces another potential suspension due to professional misconduct. He has mediated the City’s development plans for the Six Flags site, which remain noncommittal. His legislative record does include support for 1,438 bed cap in the jail, and opposition to the unfair ordinance that paved the way for sweeps of homeless encampments.
Summary: Nguyen’s leadership is promising, while Gray hasn’t exactly bowled us over.
CITY CHARTER AMENDMENTS
PW HRC AMENDMENT – SEC. 3-115 & SEC. 6-201 – CC
Shall Sections 3-115 and 6-201 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans be amended to establish a “Savings Fund” as an operating fund of the City, to provide that appropriations from said Savings Fund may only be made by the City Council upon a two-thirds vote of its membership and only when one or more of the following conditions have been met: 1) a City Council declaration of emergency due to act of God, riot, war, or a grave emergency which threatens widespread loss of life or grievous injury to health or property; 2) a City Council determination that a significant loss in City revenues due to an economic downturn of serious proportions has occurred or is occurring; and/or 3) a mandate by the United States Government that has been determined by the City Attorney to be in accordance with law, and to require appropriations by the City Council to ensure a Savings Fund balance of at least five percent (5%) of the average of the previous five years of actual general fund expenditures except where any of the above conditions have been met?
Days after the first bout of severe flooding in Mid-City and Lakeview in late July, Councilmembers Williams, Head, Guidry, Cantrell, Ramsey, Brossett and Gray sponsored an ordinance that offers a solution for just such types of disasters: a rainy day fund. The ordinance calls for the voters to consider an amendment to the Home Rule Charter that establishes a Savings Fund, which would be administered by City Council. At least 5% of the City’s annual general fund would be appropriated by the Council into the restricted fund—that’s $27.5 million out of the city’s $60 million balance this year, if voters say yes.
According to Deputy Mayor Jeff Hebert, drawing from the city’s existing fund balance will help the city’s bond rating and add another layer of fiscal security as measured by major bond rating agencies. Use of the Rainy Day Fund would be limited to circumstances that include one or more of the following three specific conditions: 1) a City Council declaration of emergency due to act of God, riot, war, or a grave emergency which threatens widespread loss of life or grievous injury to health or property; 2) a City Council determination that a significant loss in City revenues due to an economic downturn of serious proportions has occurred or is occurring; and/or 3) a mandate by the United States Government. Such a rainy day savings fund could have been used to rehabilitate parts of New Orleans East hit by a tornado earlier this year, or funneled toward Sewerage and Water Board repairs this summer.
Summary: Yes, New Orleans needs as many tools in its toolbox to respond to crisis. Let’s also keep pushing for more progressive, preventative investments too.
CRIME PREVENTION DISTRICTS
Summary: All of these propositions propose new fees or fee renewals, which fund so-called “crime prevention,” “security,” or “subdivision improvement” initiatives for very particular neighborhoods. Usually these initiatives manifest as increased spending on private police patrol within those neighborhoods. Here we say NO to unequal allocation of public resources. A dangerous precedent is set by crowd-sourcing greater safety and security for people with expendable income, favoring the lives and livelihood of certain people and making those neighborhoods less affordable to live in. Invest those hundreds of thousands of dollars in something that benefits the vibrant, urban fabric of our city, like community organizations and schools.
LAKE TERRACE CRIME PREV. DIST. – $300/$700 PARCEL FEE RENEWAL – CC – 8 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans renew the levy of the Lake Terrace Crime Prevention District’s (“District”) annual Parcel Fee, $300 per year on each improved real property parcel, except $700 per year on each improved parcel with three or more family units, located within the District, bounded by the center line of Robert E. Lee Boulevard, Pratt Drive, St. Bernard Avenue, the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain, and Lakeshore Drive, as specified by New Orleans City Council, for a period of eight (8) years, commencing January 1, 2019 and ending December 31, 2026, which fee is estimated to generate approximately $130,500 annually, to be used solely and exclusively for the prevention of crime and the provision of additional security by providing an increase of the presence of law enforcement officers and/or duly authorized security personnel within the District as determined and managed by the Board of Commissioners of the District, which law enforcement officers and/or additional security patrols are paid using funds from the proceeds of the Parcel Fee and that any additional law enforcement officers and/or security patrols are supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided by the New Orleans Police Department?
LAKE WILLOW SUBDIVISION IMPROV. DIST. – $300 ANNUAL FEE RENEWAL – CC – 3 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans renew the special annual fee, called the Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District fee, on each parcel of land in the Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District, excluding Lots 1B, 1C, and 1D (which district is comprised of that area of the City of New Orleans located between Morrison Road on the north, the Lawrence Drainage Canal on the west, the I-10 Service Road on the south, and on the east by a line approximately two hundred feet west of the west line of Crowder Road), in an amount of three hundred dollars ($300) for three (3) years beginning on January 1, 2018 and ending on December 31, 2020, which fee is estimated to generate approximately $52,200 per year, to be used solely and exclusively to promote and encourage the security, beautification and overall betterment of the Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District as determined and managed by the Board of Commissioners of the Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District, except a 1% City collection fee, which additional security shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided in the district by the New Orleans Police Department?
SPRING LAKE SUBDIVISION IMP. DIST. – $200 PARCEL FEE RENEWAL – CC – 8 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans renew the annual levy of the Spring Lake Subdivision Improvement District fee upon each parcel of taxable real property in the Spring Lake Subdivision Improvement District, which is comprised of that area of the City of New Orleans within the following boundaries: Morrison Road on the north, the Lawrence Drainage Canal on the east, the I-10 Service Road on the south, and the St. Charles Drainage Canal on the west, in the amount of and not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) for a period of eight (8) years, beginning January 1, 2019 and ending December 31, 2026, which fee is estimated to generate approximately $40,800 annually, to be used exclusively for the purpose of promoting and encouraging the beautification, security, and overall betterment of the Spring Lake Subdivision, except a 1% City collection fee, and if used for additional law enforcement or security personnel and their services, such personnel and services shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided by the New Orleans Police Department?
UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD SEC. & IMPROV. DIST. – $950 PARCEL FEE – CC – 10 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans levy the University Neighborhood Security and Improvement District’s (“District”) annual Parcel Fee in the amount of $950 per year for each improved parcel located within the District, bounded by Calhoun Street, downtown side, from Saint Charles Avenue to Freret Street; Freret Street, river side, from Calhoun Street to State Street; State Street from Freret Street to Saint Charles Avenue; Saint Charles Avenue, lake side, from State Street to Calhoun, annually for ten (10) years beginning on January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2027, which fee is estimated to generate approximately $139,650 in the first year, to be used solely and exclusively for the purpose and benefit of the District as determined and managed by the Board of Commissioners of the District, except a 1% City collection fee, and if used for additional law enforcement or security personnel and their services, such personnel and services shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided by the City, the State, or other political subdivisions?
LAKE CARMEL SUBDIVISION IMP. DIST. – $250 PARCEL FEE – CC – 5 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans levy the Lake Carmel Subdivision Improvement District Fee upon each parcel of taxable real property situated within the boundaries of the Lake Carmel Subdivision Improvement District, in the amount of and not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250) annually for a period of five (5) years, beginning January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2022, with an estimated $82,500 expected to be collected from the levy of the fee for an entire year, to be used solely and exclusively to promote and encourage the beautification, security and overall betterment of the Lake Carmel Subdivision Improvement District, except a 1% City collection fee, and if used for additional law enforcement or security personnel and their services, such personnel and their services shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided in the District by the New Orleans Police Department?
AUDUBON AREA SECURITY DISTRICT – $550 PARCEL FEE – CC – 10 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans levy the Audubon Area Security District’s (“District”) annual Parcel Fee in an amount not to exceed $550 per year subject to an annual increase of twenty-five dollars ($25) upon subsequent adoption of a resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the District, for each parcel located within the District, bounded by Exposition Boulevard to St. Charles Avenue to Arabella Street to Hurst Street to Nashville Avenue to Prytania Street and back to Exposition Boulevard, annually for ten (10) years beginning on January 1, 2019 and ending December 31, 2028, which fee is estimated to generate approximately $189,750 in the first year, to be used solely and exclusively for promoting and encouraging security, beautification, and overall betterment within the District as determined and managed by the Board of Commissioners of the District, except a 1% City collection fee, and if used for additional law enforcement or security personnel and their services, such personnel and services shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided by the City, the State, or other political subdivisions?
LAKEWOOD E. SEC. AND NEIGH. IMP. DIST. – $300 PARCEL FEE RENEWAL – CC – 8 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans renew the levy of the annual Lakewood East Security and Neighborhood Improvement District parcel fee on each parcel of land in the Lakewood East Security and Neighborhood Improvement District, which is comprised of that area within the following perimeter: Interstate 10 Service Road, Mayo Boulevard, Orleans Parish School property formerly known as Livingston Middle School, and St. Charles Canal, in the amount of and not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300), for a period of and not exceeding eight (8) years, beginning January 1, 2019 and ending December 31, 2026, which fee is estimated to generate approximately $34,800 annually, to be used exclusively, except for a 1% city collection fee, for the purpose of promoting and encouraging the beautification, security, and overall betterment of the Lakewood East Security and Neighborhood Improvement District, and to encourage, promote, and advance the nonprofit interests of homeowners in the subdivision through participation in charitable activities and events; and if such fee is used for additional law enforcement or security personnel and their services, such personnel and services shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided by the New Orleans Police Department?
UPPER AUDUBON SECURITY DISTRICT – $700 PARCEL FEE – CC – 8 YRS.
Shall the City of New Orleans levy the Upper Audubon Security District’s (“District”) annual Parcel Fee in an amount not to exceed $700 per year for each parcel located within the District, bounded by the Uptown side of Audubon Park to St. Charles Avenue (riverside only) to Broadway Street (both sides) to Magazine Street (lakeside only) and back to the Uptown side of Audubon Park, annually for eight (8) years beginning on January 1, 2019 and ending December 31, 2026, which fee is estimated to generate approximately $239,400 in the first year, to be used solely and exclusively to aid in crime prevention and reduction by providing additional security for District residents, as determined and managed by the Board of Commissioners of the District, except a 1% City collection fee, and if used for additional law enforcement or security personnel and their services, such personnel and services shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided by the City, the State, or other political subdivisions, said fee to be in lieu of and replace the $500 parcel fee authorized to be levied through 2020 pursuant to an election held on February 1, 2014?
OFFICIAL ELECTION INFO
Early voting is November 3-11 (except Sunday, 11/5 and Friday, 11/10) from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations:
Registrar’s Office (City Hall)
RM 1W23; 1300 Perdido St. 70112
Registrar’s Office (Algiers Courthouse)
RM 105; 225 Morgan St. 70114
Voting Machine Warehouse
8870 Chef Menteur Highway 70127
Lake Vista Community Center
6500 Spanish Fort Blvd.
2nd floor meeting room
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is November 14 by 4:30 p.m. The deadline for casting an absentee ballot is November 17 by 4:30 p.m. (other than military and overseas voters).
FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES
League of Women Voters of New Orleans
Candidate biographies and questionnaires
lwvno.org
Step Up Louisiana
3 Point economic justice platform
stepuplouisiana.org
The New Orleans Tribune
“Trib Talk” Live Candidate Interviews on Facebook, from the first Black daily newspaper in the United States
facebook.com/pg/theneworleanstribune/videos
Bureau of Governmental Research
2017 Candidate Q&A election series
bgr.org
Forward New Orleans
Candidate scorecard
Forwardneworleans.com
Voters Organized to Educate
Equal justice and civil rights advocacy
Knowyourvotenola.org
Depending on where you live, your ballot may differ from this guide. Visit voterportal.sos.la.gov to view your ballot by your name or address.
For an up-to-date version of this guide, visit arielleschecter.blogspot.com
This voter education guide is published primarily as a resource and does not constitute an official endorsement of any candidate or proposition by ANTIGRAVITY or New Orleans Harm Reduction Network.
illustrations Max Ward
