Three years ago, I published my first ever article here on The Hayride. The title of that piece was “New Orleans is a Third World Dumpster Fire,” and I thought it would be fitting to revisit my original analysis of the city.
Here was my description of New Orleans in June 2022:
The New Orleans that my grandparents grew up in 60, 70 years ago has completely changed. A once vibrant, bustling city is now a shadow of its former self. That reality is nothing to take pleasure in.
The tragedy of this situation is that New Orleans did not have to become a Third World Dumpster Fire. The city’s demise was not inevitable, but this decline has been ongoing for decades, and little to nothing has been done by the city’s political class to reverse it.
I hope that better days are ahead for New Orleans, but nothing will change when citizens keep electing corrupt, inept politicians—like Mayor LaToya Cantrell, District Attorney Jason Williams, and others—for decades.
I plan on continuing to live in the suburbs of New Orleans, and not the city itself, for the long term because the city is not likely to improve anytime soon. I would love to see New Orleans restored to its former glory because I truly do love the Greater New Orleans area. But, you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. The same thing goes for the city of New Orleans and its citizens …”
Now it’s June 2025, and not much has changed. In fact, some things have demonstrably gotten worse. Sure, crime has marginally improved, and the city recently hosted several large events—including Super Bowl LIX—but the dysfunction persists.
Local politicians and municipal officials in New Orleans have continued to display their utter incompetence to the detriment of their constituents. Over the past six months specifically, we’ve witnessed several massive blunders from the city’s political class of which the whole world has seemingly caught wind.
In January 2025, an Islamic terrorist murdered over a dozen people in the French Quarter after the city failed to install security bollards on Bourbon Street. The victims are no longer with us because of this bureaucratic negligence.
Fast forward to today, and law enforcement is still looking for two fugitives who escaped from the Orleans Parish jail last month. A widely circulated photo shows how the inmates broke a hole through one of the jail’s bathrooms to make their escape.
Worse still, Sheriff Susan Hutson never requested a formal crime scene investigation into the Parish jail following the jailbreak.
Even her former political ally, DA Jason Williams, publicly condemned Hutson’s inaction. The Sheriff’s Department failed to promptly notify other law enforcement agencies and city officials, which delayed the response and search effort.
Of course, local taxpayers will have to foot the bill for this incompetence. The total cost of these manhunts will certainly exceed a million dollars.
Let’s also not forget that Sheriff Hutson previously requested $13 MILLION DOLLARS in additional funding to the Orleans Sheriff’s department because “… these folks that were able to get out did so because of defective locks on the cells ….” Hutson is now blaming the “aging infrastructure” for a jail that was renovated only 10 years ago.
In yesterday’s City Council meeting, Sheriff Huston shared that Parish’s jail is now experiencing severe plumbing issues. She now wants $1.2 million to fix it.
Why now? Why didn’t she act earlier? Why have so many problems persisted during her tenure? Hutson has yet to offer satisfactory answers in her public statements since the escape.
What has Hutson actually accomplished during her four years as sheriff? During her first year, New Orleans became one of the most violent cities in the country. In 2022, it became the “murder capital of America.”
Early in her term, Hutson fiercely fought against expanding the New Orleans jail–until a judge ordered her to proceed with it. Because she dragged her feet, construction still isn’t complete.
On one hand, she complains about overcrowding. On the other, she spent years fighting the very expansion that would relieve that issue. She can’t have it both ways.
But ultimately, who is responsible for these failed leaders? Who gave us Sheriff Susan Hutson, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and DA Jason Williams?
The answer: the voters of New Orleans.
Time and time again, New Orleans citizens continue to reward same types of politicians. They’ve put into office the likes of Ray Nagin, William Jefferson, Karen Carter Peterson, and many other corrupt figures over the years.
Yes, it’s easy to blame the politicians—and they deserve plenty of it—but every single one was voted in by the people of New Orleans.
As some of you know, another election season is upon us. This October, voters will choose a new slate of city councilmembers, a new sheriff, and a new mayor—since Cantrell is term-limited.
After nearly eight years under LaToya “the Destroya,” you’d think New Orleanians might consider a political outsider for a change. But you’d be wrong.
So far, only two major candidates have emerged in the mayoral race: Helena Moreno and Oliver Thomas. Moreno is a far-left ideologue who could make Cantrell look moderate by comparison. Thomas is a convicted felon.
Not exactly inspiring choices.
To be brutally honest, it may not matter who wins. The city’s long-standing issues—crime, corruption, and chaos—aren’t going anywhere, regardless of the election outcome.
The people of New Orleans have repeatedly shown that they are incapable of self-governance. They have not shown that they are capable of selecting an effective leader.
The pressing question now is whether some other entity—perhaps the Louisiana state government—will step in to clean up the mess. Let’s hope someone has the courage and competence to do what New Orleans hasn’t been able to do for decades.
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