Mayor of New Orleans LaToya Cantrell has charged her Big Easy constituents $29,000 to travel first- or business-class instead of coach, since 2021; she says it’s for “safety” —not luxury —and is refusing to reimburse the city, despite that literally being the policy for lawmakers who fly.
“Employees are required to purchase the lowest airfare available… Employees who choose an upgrade from coach, economy, or business class flights are solely responsible for the difference in cost,” the policy reads, according to WWL.
“Any reconciliation of travel expenses that results in overpayment by the City requires that the employee reimburse the City within twenty business days,” it continues.
Okay, so what’s Cantrell say to that?
“All expenses incurred doing business on behalf of the city of New Orleans will not be reimbursed to the city of New Orleans,” she insisted, according to WWL.
Ah, okay. Maybe there’s a good reason Ms. Cantrell needs to fly first-class.
“As all women know, our health and safety are often disregarded and we are left to navigate alone,” she told the Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate in August. “As the mother of a young child whom I live for, I am going to protect myself by any reasonable means in order to ensure I am there to see her grow into the strong woman I am raising her to be,” she continued.
“Anyone who wants to question how I protect myself just doesn’t understand the world Black women walk in.”
So, first-class is safer in which scenario? Is coach filled with nefarious ne’er-do-wells and cretinous creatures looking to prey on high-profile mayors? Are there some health risks associated with the middle seat? Can you die of being slightly uncomfortable?
And what does being black or being a mother have to do with it?
If you’re wondering if it’s really that much more expensive —it is. According to The New York Post, “[o]n one occasion, Cantrell’s flights cost nine times that of an aide who accompanied her but flew in coach…the $18,000 return trip to France over the summer was to sign an agreement on an existing partnership with a small city on the Mediterranean Sea.”
Yikes. Okay that looks pretty bad. How do her constituents feel about this?
“More than half (55.4%) of the some 400 registered voters surveyed supported a recall,” according to WVUE.
Ah, not good then.
