Belden Batiste, a candidate for the New Orleans City Council District D, said today that the City Council should not extend several multi-year no-bid legal contracts initially authorized by Mayor LaToya Cantrell more than five years ago. The Council’s Budget Audit Committee will review the proposed contract extensions as part of a long agenda […]
Second-Line organizations along with Social Aid and Pleasure clubs are in a nasty battle with Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration, the outcome of which might have long-term negative impacts on the city’s cultural scene. The NOPD has proposed new rules that would add to the costs of holding a parade by requiring increased insurance for trolleys […]
Editor’s note: This article is not an endorsement and does necessarily represent the views of the editorial board. “I want to be a champion for the citizens of New Orleans and not be labeled as a politician. I am proud that people in the community refer to me as a voice for the voiceless,” said […]
“Chief Anne Kirkpatrick is double-talking. She said she is ‘all-woman and this is her department’ but now she is cow-towing to Mayor LaToya Cantrell,” said Belden Batiste, community activist and declared candidate for mayor in 2025. Batiste was referring to Kirpatrick’s recent decision to put the brakes on promotions for key NOPD personnel. Kirpatrick admitted […]
The NOPD’s deliberate indifference in the hiring and inadequate supervision of disgraced former New Orleans police officer Rodney Vicknair – now deceased – is another good reason that the NOPD’s federal consent decree must continue, said community activist Belden Batiste. “The NOPD leadership and especially its Public Integrity Bureau (PIB) failed this young victim, robbed […]
The citizen-led group known as New Orleans United Front (NOUF) is holding a Town Hall meeting Monday July 29 to educate residents about recent legislation and the NOPD’s ongoing efforts to exit from the federal Consent Decree. The meeting will be held at Cafe Instanbul, 2372 St Claude Ave. between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. […]
Community activist Belden Batiste filed a complaint with the New Orleans Ethics Review Board against New Orleans Inspector General Edward Michel for allegedly threatening Batiste with arrest by federal authorities. In a January 17, 2024 letter to ethics board attorney Dane Ciolino, Batiste said the treat came during a heated conversation outside the City Council […]
Recall campaign organizers Eileen Carter and Belden Batiste said today, Thursday March 23, that they turned in approximately 100,000 petitions with signatures of Orleans Parish registered voters far more than the 67,000 petitions Registrar of Voters Dr. Sandra Wilson claimed had been submitted. The announcement came during dual press conferences Wilson and Carter/Batiste held […]
The campaign to recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell is a newly-christened ship navigating uncharted waters. Campaign leaders knew they could harness the raw unrest and concerns about crime felt by so many citizens across all neighborhoods. Thousands of eager participants unafraid of potential backlash from the Cantrell administration lined up to fill out the petitions correctly, […]
City of New Orleans CAO Gilbert Montano provided a partial response Friday, February 24, to questions posed by City Council President J.P. Morrell and Vice President Helena Moreno regarding Mayor Cantrell’s recent 2022 recap brochure—which relates directly to local government transparency—that the Cantrell administration selectively sent to 106,633 “fellow New Orleanians who actively participate in […]
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