The news media is slobbering all over about the first woman Police Chief in New Orleans history. Here’s an example…

After weeks of speculation, Mayor LaToya Cantrell has named an interim NOPD Superintendent to replace Shaun Ferguson, who is retiring.

Cantrell tapped Captain Michelle Woodfork Tuesday (Dec. 20) morning in a press conference. She becomes the first female police superintendent in the history of the force effective Thursday, Dec. 22.

“I have been in the weeds and at the core of this engagement,” Cantrell said of the decision to name Woodfork interim police superintendent.

Cantrell says that she was in constant contact with all levels of the force in the process of the selection.

Woodfork is a 30-year veteran of the force and niece of former NOPD Superintendent Warren Woodfork. She has years of experience in management services and at the police academy.

Cantrell described Woodfork as a “legacy”.

“First of all I want to thank God,” Woodfork said at Tuesday’s press conference. “I also want to thank Mayor Cantrell for trusting my leadership and three decades of service.”

Woodfork also spoke of her pride as she accepts the historic appointment, noting her family’s history within the force and serving the community she is a native of. She says she will serve with “honesty and integrity.”

I suppose this appointment makes the woke crowd happy, but what the people want to know is not her gender, color, religion, sexual choices, or anything else.

What the people want to know is, will Michelle Woodfork do the job, and will the Mayor and other city politicians and the federal overseers let her do the job? That’s anything but a settled question. In fact, given the recent history of New Orleans (and the not-so-recent history as well), there is little reason for optimism. Especially given the collapse of law and order in the city under the current mayor and her predecessor.

New Orleans and Louisiana will be a better place when woke politics slither back under a rock, and meritocracy replaces mediocrity as the criteria for public leadership. When that finally happens is anybody’s guess.