Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (born 1947) is a teacher, a former school administrator and a Democratic politician from New Orleans.
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Hedge-Morrell holds a Bachelor of Administration in Elementary Education from the University of New Orleans and a master of science from Loyola University 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. District D 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 C. 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.
Although according to the Times-Picayune Nagin "has no automatic allies" on the City Council, Hedge-Morrell has sometimes defended his administration's policy when attacked by fellow councilwoman Stacy Head, as in a 30 July 2009 oral duel over garbage-collection fees, which Head had a long history of criticizing as being too high and too subsidized by the city's general fund.[1]
Since 1973 Hedge-Morrell has been married to 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 in movie director Spike Lee's documentary When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts.
In 2007 the Times-Picayune reported on April 4 that Hedge-Morrell had been stopped twice in the previous 4 months by state police, including a February 26 incident in which she was charged with speeding on the shoulder of Interstate 10 with a blue light flashing.[2] On the day of the newspaper report, Hedge-Morrell issued a public apology for the incident.[3]
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 |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Payton (D) |
Councilmember, District D 2005–2010 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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