New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is under fire for using taxpayer money to fly first class in the name of safety.
During an interview on Monday’s “Fox & Friends First,” Bayou Mama Bears founder Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue discussed Cantrell’s luxury travel costs and her refusal to pay back constituents for the steep price tag.
“You compare the fact that $30,000 is just the difference in cost from a coach seat versus a first class, and the starting salary of our New Orleans Police Department is $40,000,” Rodrigue told co-host Todd Piro. “So you have to take that into consideration when we are the murder capital of the country right now with… one of the lowest police department employment rates, we just cannot keep police officers.”
“It’s no wonder that the city has become the laughingstock of the country,” she continued.
In January, the Democratic mayor flew first class to Washington, D.C., for $2,300, in March she flew first class to Miami for $2,800, in June she traveled to Switzerland first class for $9,800, and in July, she took a first-class trip to France for $17,000.
“The lack of shame, unfortunately, we’ve sort of become accustomed to here,” Rodrigue added. “There is a complete disregard for the intelligence level of the citizens of Orleans Parish to think that any of us believe this… Women in New Orleans are most afraid to stop at a red light right now…you’re going to get carjacked.”
Cantrell has since released a statement defending her costly sky-high flights, saying that her “travel accommodations are a matter of safety, not of luxury.”
“As all women know, our health and safety are often disregarded, and we are left to navigate alone,” the statement read. “Anyone who wants to question how I protect myself just doesn’t understand the world Black women walk in.”
Similarly, Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is also facing scrutiny for her refusal to pay speeding tickets for police vehicles used to transport her, despite the mayor’s advocacy for stricter speed cameras in the Windy City.
Two of the SUVs used to move the mayor throughout Chicago have reportedly racked up three-speed camera tickets and two warnings in the past few months. Since taking office, Lightfoot has pushed to lower the “buffer zone” threshold that speed cameras allow before issuing a citation from 10 mph to 6 mph, arguing that it will make roads safer.
