Mitch Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu had a successful law practice in New Orleans where he became known as an expert reformer. He then served sixteen years in the state legislature. Landrieu served two terms as Lieutenant Governor. He then ran for Mayor of New Orleans and served two terms from 1010 to 2018. When he took office, New Orleans was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and in the midst of the BP oil spill. Landrieu fast-tracked over 100 projects and secured billions in federal funding to help in the city’s recovery. In 2015, Landrieu was named “Public Official of the Year” for his efforts. In 2016, he was voted “America’s top turnaround Mayor” in a Politico survey of mayors. He served as the President of the US Conference of mayors. Landrieu gained national prominence for his decision to remove four Confederate statues from New Orleans. This earned him the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. He authored a book about his personal journey confronting racism, which became a New York Times bestseller, “In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History. He is currently serving as Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator. He is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He and his wife Cheryl live in New Orleans, where they raised their five children.