Keva Landrum and Jason Williams are heading to a run-off in the race for Orleans Parish District Attorney. The eventual winner will become the second Black D.A. in New Orleans history and will also represent a major break from the “tough-on-crime” approach to criminal justice that has defined the top prosecutor's office in New Orleans for decades.
As of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, with all 351 precincts in New Orleans reporting, Landrum had won 35 percent of the vote and Williams had captured 29 percent, just edging out Arthur Hunter, who was in third place with 28 percent. The top two vote-getters head to the December run-off.
The eventual winner will become the second Black D.A. in New Orleans history and will also represent a major break from the “tough-on-crime” approach to criminal justice that has defined the top prosecutor's office in New Orleans for decades.
The winner will replace outgoing district attorney Leon Cannizzaro, who decided not to run for re-election after serving three terms. Cannizzaro was known as an aggressive prosecutor who promised to crack down on violent crime. But Cannizarro faced growing scrutiny over his office's use of fake subpoenas to compel crime victims and witnesses to testify.
The race to replace Cannizzaro was competitive and closely-watched, with all four candidates vying to bring transparency and reform to the district attorney's office. During debates and media interviews, the candidates — Keva Landrum, Arthur Hunter, Morris Reed and Jason Williams — largely agreed on the same policies that have been embraced by the "progressive prosecutor" movement across the U.S.: bail reform, ending mass incarceration, decriminalizing low-level drug possession and increasing accountability for police abuses.
But several differences emerged during the contest, including whether candidates would prohibit the use of Louisiana's habitual offender statute, which allows prosecutors to seek additional sentencing if the defendant has prior convictions. Critics and defense attorneys have argued the law is used to force clients into plea deals, driving up incarceration rates. Williams, a criminal defense attorney and New Orleans City Council president, said he’d never apply the habitual offender statute; the other three argued they’d rarely seek to use the statute but wouldn’t rule it out completely.
Williams said his stance on the issue separated his candidacy from the pack. "People are running to be considered progressive, although they don't have a track record of it,” he said on WWNO’s The Politics Roundtable last month. Williams is also facing federal tax charges, an issue which didn’t come that much during the primary but could emerge in a potential one-on-one contest.
Experience was another area where the candidates tried to stand out. Landrum, a former prosecutor and chief judge of the city’s criminal court, argued that she was the only one running with actual experience in the D.A’s office, having once briefly served as interim D.A. when Eddie Robinson resigned in 2007.
“I believe that having an experienced candidate is what we need right now,” Landrum said on WWNO’s The Politics Roundtable last week. “This is a critical time in our community’s history, where we have a chance to heal that gap that exists between the District Attorney's office and the city of New Orleans.”
With the four candidates largely agreeing on the major issues — and all representing a major policy shift from outgoing Cannizzaro — the candidates also differentiated themselves by their supporters and endorsements.
Landrum scored backing from many in the city’s political establishment, including Mayor LaToya Cantrell and The Advocate’s editorial board.
Arthur Hunter, a former criminal judge who has long pushed for criminal justice reform, drew support from local unions and progressive groups like the PAC for Justice, a liberal political action committee that’s supporting reform-minded DA candidates across the U.S.
Morris earned the endorsement from the New Orleans Tribune, a monthly news magazine that serves the African-American community.
Williams won the Alliance For Good Government’s endorsement back in June.
Copyright 2020 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio