Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (born September 4, 1947) is an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
teacher, a former school administrator, and a
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
. She served on the
New Orleans City Council
The New Orleans City Council is the legislative branch of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The current mayor-council form of city government was created in 1954, following the 1950 amendment of the state constitution that provide ...
from 2005 to 2014.
Education
Hedge-Morrell holds a Bachelor of Administration in
Elementary Education
Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...
from the
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High resea ...
and a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...
from
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans City Council
The New Orleans City Council is the legislative branch of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The current mayor-council form of city government was created in 1954, following the 1950 amendment of the state constitution that provide ...
in a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
on April 2, 2005. Hedge-Morrell instead defeated a Republican candidate, Eustis J. Guillemet, Jr. (born January 1934), 4,959 votes (84.5 percent) to 912 (15.5 percent). Hedge-Morrell was re-elected in 2006 but with a reduced majority. A number of her colleagues faced voter dissatisfaction stemming from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
Ray Nagin won re-election only after facing a much tougher challenge than expected before the hurricane and half of the members who wished to stay were not returned to the city council.
In 2007, Hedge-Morrell faced a
political scandal
In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, unet ...
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally ...
. She yelled at the state trooper, "Do you know who I am? ... What the hell are you stopping me for?" She later apologized for the incident.
She appeared in the documentary political film directed by Leslie Carde ''
America Betrayed
''America Betrayed'' is a 2008 American documentary political film
Political cinema, in the narrow sense of that portray current or historical events or social conditions through a partisan perspective in order to inform or to agitate the spe ...
'' (2008).
In 2014, Hedge-Morrell was term-limited in her District D council seat and instead ran unsuccessfully for the Division 2 at-large seat. She was defeated by a two-to-one margin by her fellow Democrat, Jason Williams.
Personal life
Since 1966, Hedge-Morrell has been married to Arthur A. Morrell, who served as a
state representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
for District 97 from 1984 to 2006, when he was elected as the
Clerk of Criminal Court. District 97 roughly covers the same area as District D. Hedge-Morrell and her husband were among the participants in movie director
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
.
Election history
Councilmember, District D, 2005
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, April 2, 2005
Councilmember, District D, 2006
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, April 22, 2006