Cynthia Hedge-Morrell

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Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (born in 1947) is a teacher, a former school administrator and a Democratic politician from New Orleans.

She holds a Bachelor of Administration in Elementary Education from the University of New Orleans and a Master Degree of Science from Loyola University of New Orleans.

She has served as Councilmember representing New Orleans District D, since 2005. District D includes some the neighborhoods that were the most seriously damaged by the Levee failures of 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. It covers the Gentilly Area and parts of New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward.

Hedge-Morrell was re-elected, with a reduced majority, in 2006. A number of her colleagues faced disgruntlement related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Mayor 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 back on the City Council. As she had only served for a few months previous to Hurricane Katrina, pundits believe she was not viewed with as much disdain.

For more than 35 years, Hedge-Morrell has been married to local politician Arthur Morrell, who has served as a Representative for District 97 at the Louisiana State Legislature since 1984, before being elected Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court in 2006. District 97 roughly covers the same area as District D.

Hedge-Morrell and her spouse were among the participants to Movie Director Spike Lee's documentary When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts.

It was reported ^[1] on April 4, 2007 that Ms Hedge-Morrell had been stopped twice in the past 4 months by state police while driving. On February 26, 2007, she was reported speeding on the shoulder of Interstate 10 with a blue light flashing. On April 5, 2007, she issued a public apology for the incident. ^[2]

[edit] Election History

Councilmember, District D, 2005

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, April 2, 2005

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Cynthia Hedge-Morrell	Democratic	4,959 (84%)	Elected
Eustis Guillemet	Republican	912 (16%)	Defeated

Councilmember, District D, 2006

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, April 22, 2006

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Cynthia Hedge-Morrell	Democratic	10,889 (56%)	Elected
Louella Givens	Democratic	4,194 (22%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	4,319 (22%)	Defeated

[edit] Footnotes

^ City councilwoman clocked driving 100 mph, Brendan McCarthy, Times-Picayune, April 4, 2007
^ Councilwoman apologizes for speeding incident, Frank Donze, Times-Picayune, April 5, 2007

[edit] Sources

City of New Orleans : http://www.cityofno.com/

Louisiana Secretary of State : http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/

Cynthia Hedge-Morrell's Re-Election Website : http://www.cynthiamorrell.com/

Political offices
Preceded by David Payton (D)	Councilmember, District D 2005–2010	Succeeded by Incumbent

v • d • e Current members of the New Orleans City Council

Councilmembers at Large (2 seats) Arnie Fielkow (Democrat) • Jackie Clarkson (Democrat) • Councilmembers for districts (5 seats) District A: Shelley Stephenson Midura (Democrat) • District B: Stacy Head (Democrat) • District C: James Carter (Democrat) • District D: Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (Democrat) • District E: Cynthia Willard-Lewis (Democrat)