Mandina’s, Parkway, and Deanie’s on Hayne were listed as favorite po-boy spots by two of the candidates for the upcoming mayoral election.

The 2025 New Orleans mayoral election is set for Oct. 11, and oscillating between second and third place in the polls are Councilman Oliver Thomas and State Senator Royce Duplessis. 

Under Louisiana’s primary system, all candidates run against each other regardless of party. If no candidate wins a majority, then the two frontrunners will face off in a secondary, runoff election.

As far as the prominent topics of discussion go, which remain important and pertinent to New Orleanians and Loyola students alike, the two candidates underline how their plans will tackle these. 

In regards to infrastructure such as road reconstruction and filling potholes, Thomas said as mayor he plans to use the city’s budget to buy two pothole machines and put them in rotation to fix the potholes that scourge the streets of New Orleans. 

“What we plan to do is buy two pothole machines that will actually cover the city, and as soon as there’s a pothole, you put them in a rotation to be done. Now the city has talked about doing it before and never done it. In a $1.8 billion budget, I don’t see why we can’t get two pothole machines,” Thomas said.

Regarding larger inconsistencies with city services, Thomas said,  “More recently, I was in politics for several years, and I was out of it for 14 years …It seems to me like we have a lot of people who either don’t know their job, but just do it whenever they feel like and that’s not good enough. That’s why I’m running for mayor.”

When asked about the possibility of incompetence in completion of these projects and these city services, Thomas said, “something fails, it’s not just about incompetence. You got to give a damn, because I know people who may be less qualified than others, who put 110% effort into what they do, and they learn it and they deliver.” 

“I think we’ve reached a point where the government, in many cases, a lot of folk, don’t have institutional knowledge, but they also don’t have the work ethic and the interest to learn it, to do it,” Thomas said.

Duplessis said he desires to increase transparency, which he believes will help the efficiency of city services, and city-wide contractors. 

“The first thing that I believe we have to do is that we have to have more accountability and more transparency around the process. Not enough people understand why it takes so long to get streets and roads fixed. Not enough people understand why we can’t get the money out the door, and that that is inherently a problem. So starting with trust building across departments, trust building starts with communication and that accountability is going to take place when I establish the “capital cabinet.” 

Duplessis spoke on coordination between the various companies and agencies who control what goes on under our streets.

“So the Sewerage and Water Board, Department of Public Works, Entergy, Cox, all the agencies that go under our streets, we have to be in constant communication and coordination, if that means meeting twice a week, but realistically, I think once a week, just to establish processes for goal setting, for performance metrics and for communicating it to the public,” Duplessis said.

Duplessis also has a plan to increase the visibility of projects progression so New Orleanians remain more informed about when they can expect construction to be complete across the city.

“I’m going to have a public dashboard so residents can see where projects are in real time. And I think that that level of transparency will help with contractors, because they’ll know that the public expects them to be finished with a particular job in 60 days or 90 days, or six months. That helps everybody from an accountability and performance standpoint,” Duplessis said.

When speaking on his qualifications and time away from New Orleans politics, Thomas spoke on his past both in the public and private sectors.

“I don’t need training wheels. I know what community is, what bone is connected to what bone in government. I want to have everyone in this city represented in my administration, people, young, old, new, far, local, best brains. Folks have asked me, when I win, will they have a seat at the table? Of course, because you’re going to build the table. If you build the table, you don’t have to ask for a seat,” Thomas said.

As crime rates have lowered, but remain high on the national scale, and the city appeals to remove the federal consent decree over the New Orleans Police Department, Orleans Parish Sheriffs Department, and the Orleans Parish Prison, Thomas spoke on his plan towards these issues. 

“Let’s invest in families. Let’s invest in children. Let’s invest in saving wages,” Thomas said.

Duplessis spoke on the necessity of transparency as well within the criminal legal system of the city. 

“One of the issues with the current sheriff of the jail is a lack of transparency around their budget and providing that information to the City and the City Council so that they can get additional funding. If the sheriff is asking for additional funding for better locks, the sheriff has to be able to provide current information and be transparent about budgeting so that the city can feel comfortable funding those needs,” Duplessis said.

Recent protests at Loyola, Tulane, and offices in the Central Business District of both congresspeople and government agencies alike put the issues of Israel/Palestine at the forefront of the minds of residents.

Duplessis and Thomas both spoke on the importance of focusing primarily on New Orleans. 

Thomas said he would like to create a roundtable as mayor of local leaders, Jewish, Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian in order to discuss and foster dialogue surrounding the fighting present in Gaza, and the response here at home.

“Let’s develop a legacy and a history so that anytime there’s abuse, we automatically rattle to each other’s cause. But I was the first person who put up an Instagram post about stopping this war and understanding that too many children are dying in Gaza. So my humanity is always going to leave me there,” Thomas said.

Duplessis believes that no matter what issues are happening domestically or internationally, students, activists, and all citizens should not be arrested for exercising their right to protest, and protestors must be ensured legal protection for these actions.

“I support students’ rights to be able to protest and not be arrested and express their views,” Duplessis said.

While Thomas spoke empathetically of the people in Gaza, Duplessis made clear his administration’s priority towards students and activists.

As another mayoral, Democratic-centered race heats up in the Northeast, Duplessis and Thomas spoke on their thoughts regarding Zohran Mamdani’s policy proposals for New York City and the application of city-owned grocery stores, free public transportation, and rent freezes in New Orleans. 

Duplessis said he would support expansion of the RTA Opportunity Pass which in its pilot program over the past 12 months guarantees free public transportation for Orleans Parish residents between the ages of 18-24.

Thomas said he would be open to taking a look at this expansion, but also maintained that a priority of his is infrastructure repair.

Speaking on both his time in City Hall in the 2000s, and his record in recent years at the state legislature in Baton Rouge, Duplessis spoke on how he’s been able to help the people of New Orleans, both here and in the capital.

“I began my career in public service at City Hall, helping families, helping communities in post-Katrina New Orleans. So that’s at the beginning, but in the legislature, I led the fight for a second black congressional district, which now we still have to fight, because that’s under attack, given what’s going on nationally,” Duplessis said.

Beyond starting at City Hall, and the fight for a second Black congressional district which has now stalled due to nationwide events, Duplessis passed several bills in the legislature which he believes builds up his record.

“I’ve stood up and fought for common sense criminal justice reform policies. I have fought for women’s reproductive rights. I have passed legislation to require screenings for mental health, for new moms, for postpartum depression, fought for renters rights in a number of different situations, just a lot of common sense policies.”

Regarding his place in the ideological milieu of the Louisiana Democrats, Duplessis spoke on the importance of implementing meaningful change, whether incrementally or not.

“I consider myself a pragmatic progressive who’s focused on results and working in a hostile atmosphere in the Louisiana legislature, where we are outnumbered, I’ve still been able to deliver millions of dollars to the City of New Orleans, vis-a-vis the Sewerage & Water Board or other organizations in my district that are doing great work,” Duplessis said.

In reference to the current state of city hall and the mayor’s office, Duplessis said his leadership is necessary for continued success in the city.

“Millions of dollars for our senior centers throughout the City of New Orleans, our seniors who are often forgotten. So I’ve always just been focused on equity and lifting people up. And I believe in my values, my leadership style working in hostile environments where people are disagreeing, but I can still work to bring people together,” Duplessis said.

In particular, Duplessis said that his time in Baton Rouge over recent years qualifies him for the job.

“It’s my leadership style that is most needed right now in the city of New Orleans. It’s not the fact that everybody knows my name, I’ve been at City Hall. The fact that I have not been at City Hall makes me even more qualified, given the chaos and the dysfunction that currently exists at City Hall by other people who are trying to be mayor,” Duplessis said.

In regards to his recent work in city hall, Thomas spoke on his efforts to end discriminatory hiring practices for city jobs that exclude persons with criminal records, and the creation of a cultural center in New Orleans East.

“We can’t tell private companies what to do, but in terms of government, your relationships, your contract with government departments, agencies that are affiliated with the government. We can impact those but I would also hope that once we show success, they send a message to private industry,” Thomas said.

In regards to these hiring practices, Thomas believes the city needs to lead by example, and private businesses will hopefully follow suit.

“We will use those examples to show people that you know you don’t have to discriminate against somebody because of what they did, especially if they’re certified or educated in their discipline for their job, and if they’re willing to go to work and function well, you will hold up those examples to show everybody else and hope they follow suit,” Thomas said.

New Orleans as a multicultural city has had a long history of welcoming immigrants into employment, education, and enfranchising. Recently, certain practices of Custom and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have induced major concerns in immigrant communities across the country. 

Thomas said he will try to ensure that ICE interference does not affect our immigrant communities in their workplaces.

“As mayor, the one thing that I’m going to get ICE to understand is ICE needs to be nice. You can’t raid work sites. You can’t raid places where people are contributing to our economy, and you cannot disrespect people while I’m there who are contributing to our economy,” Thomas said.

He said that the state legislature is often able to override decisions of the City, and that the City charter is connected to the state constitution.

“I’ll give you an example of the power of the state here. Our city charter is tied to the state constitution, which is why I don’t understand why some of our state officials are running for local office, because we need them in Baton Rouge, fighting, especially with a predatory governor. We don’t need the governor to be a predator, we need a partner, but it’s a different world now,” Thomas said.

With New Orleanians fleeing the city due to rising housing prices and costs of living, Duplessis spoke on their records and priority in regards to affecting these problems.

“I’ve led the fight at the Capitol. I serve on the Senate Insurance Committee outlet the fight at the capitol to push for relief for homeowners on homeowners insurance. And the best way we can do that is through expansion of our fortified roof program,” Duplessis said.

While Thomas spoke on the fact that the state of Louisiana often is able to impede city-wide policies passed by the city council, Duplessis also spoke on the necessity of the city to accept responsibility and take action.

“The city needs to do more to lean in just like we’ve done in other areas like early childhood education, the cities are going to have to lean in more. We can’t wait for the state.”

Specifically, one of Duplessis’ major proposals involves helping New Orleanians deal with housing costs, in regards to reinforcing roofs across the city.

“I think the city is going to have to stand up its own fortified roof program with the goal of getting 25% of the homes in New Orleans with fortified roofs. It makes the most sense, and it’s the most effective and efficient way we can get insurance rates down for homeowners.”

Thomas also spoke on the real estate situation in New Orleans and what he plans to do. 

“One of the things I’d like to do in the city is if we can talk with our government partners about creating a fund that people could apply for, especially older couples, whose insurance is pushing them out more so than the mortgage they’ve gotten,” Thomas said. 

As well, Thomas spoke on an increase in the construction of affordable housing. 

“10,000 new affordable homes. Let’s put together, philanthropists, investors, and a lot of the older housing experts get them in a room. I think we need to protect that to make sure that smaller developers, people with smaller units, doubles, triplexes, are affordable,” Thomas said.

Duplessis also referenced legislation he has managed to push through the state legislature that has helped not just New Orleans, but all Louisianans.

“The Prenatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder Act that requires pediatricians to screen new parents for postpartum mental health needs to the health of the child. There’s nothing more important than healthy babies being born, I can’t think of anything more important. So we need the health of the child directly connected to the health of the mother.” 

Duplessis also spoke on the current state of City Hall, and his hope for the future. 

“We just can’t afford more chaos at City Hall. We cannot afford the division and the politics, that’s the only thing that’s been coming out in City Hall for the past four years. It’s important for you all, as leaders, as journalists who are putting this information out to focus on asking those questions, those hard questions, how can we get change if we continue with the status quo, and I’m ready to turn the page on the drama and the chaos at City Hall. To bring people together to get our city to function, because this is a beautiful city, and I want to, I want to bring New Orleans to the place that we deserve,” Duplessis said.