Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (born September 4, 1947) is a teacher, former school administrator, and Democratic politician from New Orleans, Louisiana. She served on the New Orleans City Council from 2005 to 2014.

Education

Hedge-Morrell earned a bachelor’s degree in

Elementary Education Primary education is the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle schools, de ...

from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

and a master's degree from

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

Political life

Hedge-Morrell won a special election to the New Orleans City Council on April 2, 2005, defeating Republican Eustis J. Guillemet, Jr. with 84.5% of the vote. 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 Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Ray Nagin Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. N ...

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 was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 10. She later apologized for her remarks during the incident. She appeared in the documentary political film directed by Leslie Carde '' America Betrayed'' (2008). In 2014, term limits prevented Hedge-Morrell from seeking re-election in District D. She ran for the Division 2 at-large seat but lost to fellow Democrat Jason Williams by a two-to-one margin.

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 St ...

for District 97 from 1984 to 2006, when he was elected as the

Orleans Parish Orleans Parish (; ) is a parish of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of New Orleans, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city. History On April 10, 180 ...

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, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's documentary '' When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts''. Morrell is

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Election history

Councilmember, District D, 2005 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, April 2, 2005 Councilmember, District D, 2006 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, April 22, 2006

Notes

Sources

City of New Orleans websiteLouisiana Secretary of State websiteHedge-Morrell's re-election website archived at Wayback Machine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedge-Morrell, Cynthia 1947 births Living people New Orleans City Council members Place of birth missing (living people) Louisiana Democrats University of New Orleans alumni Loyola University New Orleans alumni Women city councillors in Louisiana Educators from Louisiana American women educators 21st-century American women African-American Catholics