Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (born September 4, 1947) is an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
teacher, a former school administrator, and a Democratic politician from
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. 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 fir ...
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 rese ...
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 t ...
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
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
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 ...
Ray Nagin
Clarence Raymond Joseph 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 K ...
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, uneth ...
when she was pulled over by
Louisiana State Police
The Louisiana State Police (French: Police d’Etat de Louisiane) is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of P ...
for driving 100 mph on Interstate 10. 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'' (2008).
In 2014, Hedge-Morrell was
term-limited
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
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 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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Election history
Councilmember, District D, 2005
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, April 2, 2005
Councilmember, District D, 2006
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, April 22, 2006