New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell spending Election Day in Spain

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Mayor LaToya Cantrell won't be in the city - or even the country - for Tuesday's election of the next United States president.

Cantrell is in Barcelona, Spain, attending the 2024 Smart City Expo World Congress, City Hall announced in an after-hours press release sent Monday at 8:43 p.m. Her office said Cantrell would not return to New Orleans until sometime after the conference closes on Thursday.

According to its website , the Congress "is the world's biggest and most influential event for cities and urban innovation." It has been held in Barcelona each year since 2011, and organizers said, "Every year, they gather leaders from global companies, governments and organizations to move cities towards a better future."

Since May 2023, Cantrell has taken at least seven international trips on the city's dime, visiting South Korea, France, Africa, Dubai, Canada, Qatar and now Spain. Her series of taxpayer-funded domestic and international trips drew scrutiny in 2023 and earlier this year, with some political analysts questioning their value to the New Orleans citizens she represents.

"I think what we're seeing now is genuine questions being asked, with the frequency of travel, regarding what's the purpose and is it absolutely necessary and in the city's best interest?" Fox 8 political analyst Mike Sherman said, after Cantrell visited Montreal and Qatar in May 2024.

But Cantrell's known official travel had withered considerably over the past six months, as a federal investigation into the mayor and some associates appeared to be gaining momentum.

Her former NOPD bodyguard Jeffrey Vappie was indicted in July on allegations of wire fraud and lying to federal investigators. And former third-party city inspector Randy Farrell was charged in September in a 25-count federal indictment that accuses him of a wire fraud and bribery conspiracy involving city officials including Cantrell.

Cantrell has not been charged with a crime.

According to the City Hall press release, Cantrell is in Barcelona to "be a lead voice on multiple panels, and conference consultants say information about managing New Orleans' active weather climate will serve as a model to benefit other cities."

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