Stage is set for New Orleans sheriff's race
Why it matters: In New Orleans, the sheriff runs the Orleans Justice Center, the jail from which 10 inmates escaped in May. With law enforcement still looking for one of them, this election stands to be one of the most fascinating to watch.
The big picture: The matchup between Hutson and former interim NOPD chief Michelle Woodfork, who qualified Wednesday, was going to be interesting even before the jailbreak.
Woodfork, who was beat out for the police department's top cop job in 2023 by chief Anne Kirkpatrick, remains popular. In recent months, she's been working with District Attorney Jason Williams, who has established himself as a stiff ally for Woodfork.
Hutson secured a political victory earlier this year with a historically-narrow win for a millage renewal to support the jail, but the state's first Black female sheriff 's record wasn't without blemishes before the jailbreak.
Hutson has faced charges of retaliation against an employee, according to The Times-Picayune, and the city's Inspector General said she'd improperly spent public money on deputy hotel rooms during Mardi Gras.
Between the lines: Hutson said she accepts accountability for the jailbreak, and she temporarily suspended her campaign in May to focus on the jail.
But shortly after the escape, Hutson began blaming the historic jailbreak on a lack of funding that led to an inadequately maintained facility.
By the numbers: Hutson will have to make up some ground to secure a win, according to JMC Analytics' polling numbers taken in New Orleans just after the jailbreak.
At the time, 63% of "likely voters" said they had a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of the current sheriff.
Meanwhile, 49% of "likely voters" said they had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Woodfork.
If the election had been held that day, 35% of those polled said they'd vote for Woodfork, compared to 12% for Hutson.
Other candidates who qualified for sheriff include Edwin Shorty Jr., businessman Bob Murray, retired Judge Julian Parker and Ernest Lee, according to The Times-Picayune.
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I don't want my members to believe that being faithful to God entails voting in exactly the same way as their pastor. The difference between making moral judgments and endorsing candidates may seem slight, but it respects the conscience and liberty of laypeople. Very few candidates tick all the moral boxes of any religious tradition. Voting involves considering the office to which a person is elected and the types of influence that they could have on a given issue. Christians of goodwill can weigh these matters and come to divergent conclusions. Believers may decide to refrain from voting or choose a third party because, in their view, neither majority candidate is acceptable. To believe that churches can direct the laity on how to vote, whether for members of the school board or for the president of the country, is to deny the Christian teaching that all humans are made in the image of God and can understand and follow his will themselves. The IRS justified its change by saying that pastoral endorsements are 'like a family discussion concerning candidates.' Although the Church often describes itself as a family, the analogy does not hold when it comes to endorsements. Many churches livestream their services on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. The only families that broadcast their dinners to thousands of people are on reality TV. If a large, influential church endorses candidates, it will not be a family matter; it will be national news. This in turn could put pressure on other churches to issue counter-endorsements. Remaining neutral might be seen as a stance in itself. Pastors of churches large and small run the risk of being drawn into endorsement wars. Pastoral endorsements heighten American political divisions. Studies have long shown that Democrats and Republicans tend to get their information from separate media outlets and to run in different social circles. Churches are among the few places attempting to gather people from across the political spectrum. Endorsements, however, may lead congregants to attend churches that support their favored candidates, turning a previously neutral gathering space into a politically charged one. David Brooks: What happened to American conservatism? Because of these risks, some Christian denominations resist making political endorsements regardless of what the government allows. The Catholic Church, for example, teaches that the Church, 'because of her commission and competence, is not to be confused in any way with the political community.' To keep that distinction clear, Catholic clergy are usually prohibited from running for political office. Nonetheless, priests and other church officials are free to make 'moral judgments' on political matters. Endorsing candidates would be not an expansion of the Church's work, but a reduction. When the Catholic saint Thomas More was martyred for running afoul of King Henry VIII, he was credited with saying, 'I die the King's good servant and God's first.' The point being, the Church is most useful to the state when it reminds the government of the limits of its authority. I do not believe that Donald Trump's IRS, with its regulation change, was motivated by a desire to help the Church serve God and love our neighbors well. Instead, I believe that the government thinks the new policy will be politically useful, even if it weakens relationships and threatens the health of our communities. The change is an attempt to get pastors to use the pulpit for ends for which it was never intended—a temptation we would do better to resist.
