Candidates who qualified for the District A seat on the City Council on Wednesday morning were (top row, from left) Joe Giarrusso III, Tilman Hardy, Drew Ward. In District B, (bottom row) Jay H. Banks and Seth Bloom qualified. (UptownMessenger.com graphic via candidates’ photos)
An entrepreneur and Carrollton neighborhood leader joined the field for the District A seat on the New Orleans City Council on Wednesday, as candidates began filing their paperwork to appear on the ballot.
Tilman Hardy was among the first candidates to file for the District A seat being vacated by term-limited Councilwoman Susan Guidry. A U.S. Army veteran, Hardy is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Core USA community development firm — which conducts training in environmental certification and consulting on real-estate development — and a leader of the Pensiontown Neighborhood Association, which represents the upriver areas of Carrollton.
Hardy has been an active voice in Carrollton neighborhood issues for years, arguing for the redevelopment of the former Priestley school site, criticizing the halting progress on a Carrollton community center, and promoting the development of his organization’s own headquarters at Leonidas and Willow.
Filing to appear on the ballot for the Oct. 14 mayoral and City Council races began at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. Lakeview neighborhood leader Joe Giarrusso III and Carrollton activist Drew Ward both filed their campaign paperwork to run on the District A seat as well. Former City Hall staffer Aylin Maklansky is also expected to file for the seat.
In District B, both Jay H. Banks and Seth Bloom filed paperwork to run for the seat being vacated by Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell’s bid for mayor on Wednesday morning. Also campaigning are Eric Johnson, Catherine Love and Timothy David Ray.
The At-Large City Council seat to be vacated by Stacy Head has drawn three contenders: state Rep. Helena Moreno, Kenneth Cutno and Eldon Anderson. Jason Williams qualified to run for re-election to his At-Large seat with no opponents thus far.
In the other three district-based seats on the council, District C incumbent Nadine Ramsey will face a challenge from Kristen Gisleson Palmer, who held the seat before her. Belden “Noonie Man” Batiste will run in District D, where incumbent Jared Brossett is expected to seek re-election but has not yet filed. District E incumbent James Gray is facing challenges from Alicia Plummer Clivens and Cyndi Nguyen.
In the mayor’s race, Michael Bagneris, LaToya Cantrell and Desiree Charbonnet all filed on Wednesday morning. Joining them were Byron Cole, Uptown resident Matthew Hill and Johnese Smith.
Sheriff Marlin Gusman qualified to run for re-election, with one challenger, Freddy Brooks. Coroner Jeffrey Rouse also filed to run again, with no opponents thus far.
The official qualifying period continues through Friday, and this article will continue being updated as more candidates file.
[Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported which race Eldon Anderson will compete in. Anderson filed Wednesday morning to run for the At-Large seat on the City Council being vacated by Stacy Head.]
