Recall Petition Filed Against New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell

A recall petition has been filed against Mayor LaToya Cantrell of New Orleans.

Local media are reporting that the petition, which was filed jointly by a community activist and a former staffer to the mayor, was submitted to the Secretary of State's office Friday morning.

According to the Secretary of State's website, 20 percent of the qualified electors in the voting area "where 100,000 or more qualified electors reside" are required to sign the petition in order for it to make the ballot.

The petition comes after months criticism, and recent high-profile criticisms from community leaders and activists over the recent crime wave and her expensive recent trip to France.

Cantrell was recently the subject of a lengthy segment on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show. In a follow-up opinion piece on Fox's website, Carlson called out Cantrell for her highly controversial defense of a man accused of carjacking in New Orleans.

It felt like she was supporting the crime, said the victim. Well, yes, it did, because that's exactly what the mayor was doing. Cantrell was taking the side of the carjacker over the traumatized, law-abiding woman. Now in New Orleans, Cantrell is known by her nickname Teedy, but many people call her exactly what she is: "Latoya the destroya." She is, in fact, a destroyer. The mayor is incompetent. Mayor is an open race hater.

The people behind the recall petition has 180 days to collect 53,000 signatures in order to get the recall election put on the ballot.

The petition was filed by Belden Batiste, a community activist, Mardi Gras Indian, and longtime candidate for office. Batiste was joined by Eileen Carter, a former city hall staffer and sister to former Louisiana Senator Karen Carter Peterson.