The

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

mayoral election of 1930, held in January of that year, resulted in the election of T. Semmes Walmsley to his first full term as

Mayor of New Orleans The post of Mayor of the City of New Orleans () has been held by the following individuals since New Orleans came under American administration following the Louisiana Purchase — the 1803 acquisition by the U.S. of of the French province '' ...

. T. Semmes Walmsley had been acting mayor since the resignation of the previous mayor, Arthur J. O'Keefe, due to illness in July 1929. Leader of the

Regular Democratic Organization The Regular Democratic Organization (RDO), also known as the Old Regulars or the New Orleans Ring, is a conservative political organization based in New Orleans. It has existed for 130 years and as of 2017 was still active. The symbol of the RDO ...

, Walmsley was the chosen candidate of that powerful political machine. Public Service Commissioner Francis Williams, once an ally of Governor

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

but by 1930 his enemy, ran against Walmsley. Against the advice of advisors like

Robert Maestri Robert Sidney Maestri (December 11, 1899 – May 6, 1974) was mayor of New Orleans from 1936 to 1946 and a key ally of Huey P. Long Jr. and Earl Kemp Long. Early life Robert Maestri was born in New Orleans on December 11, 1899, the son of Fra ...

, Long remained neutral in the first primary, declaring that neither candidate was worth supporting. The first primary was a close race; Walmsley came first by only 9,000 votes. Williams was entitled to face Walmsley in the runoff, but he rejected Long's last-minute offer of support and withdrew from the race.

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:New Orleans Mayoral Election, 1930

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

1930 Louisiana elections 1930 United States mayoral elections 1930s in New Orleans