LaToya Cantrell is the first female mayor of New Orleans. The 45-year-old Democrat is a political newcomer who rose to prominence as a neighborhood activist in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Cantrell was born in Los Angeles and raised by a single mother. She moved to New Orleans in 1990 to attend the Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically black college. After graduating, she worked as a hotel maid and front desk clerk.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Cantrell’s neighborhood of Broadmoor was particularly hard hit. The city proposed razing Broadmoor and replacing it with a park, but Cantrell fought back.
She led the Broadmoor Improvement Association, which convinced residents to return and rebuild. The group also secured $5 million in pledges from the Clinton Global Initiative.
Her efforts to rebuild Broadmoor made her a political force. In 2012, she was elected to the New Orleans City Council. She quickly made a name for herself as a progressive voice on the council.
She supported an ordinance to end smoking in city bars and casinos, and she fought for increased funding for affordable housing.
In the 2017 mayoral election, Cantrell ran on a platform of fighting crime, increasing affordable housing, and moving city offices into struggling neighborhoods. She defeated her runoff opponent, Desiree Charbonnet, by a comfortable margin.
Sadly, she lost her husband in 2023.
Who is Rayann Cantrell? LaToya Cantrell Only Daughter
Rayann Cantrell is the daughter of Latoya Cantrell and Jason Cantrell, as of 2023 she is 20 years old, Rayann has kept a low profile, we do not have much information to share about her.