New Orleans LA Politics & Civic News

Orleans Parish County sits inside one of the most layered governmental structures in the region. Residents answer to at least five levels of elected authority simultaneously: the federal government, statewide offices, Orleans Parish County Council, New Orleans City Council, and school district boards — each a separately elected body covering its own geographic slice of the county.

Orleans Parish’s federal delegation includes US Rep. Steve Scalise (LA District 1) and US Rep. Troy Carter (LA District 2) and Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy.

Orleans Parish County Council controls property tax millage, land-use zoning outside city limits, and fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreements. Downtown zoning decisions and the New Orleans Police Department budget run through New Orleans City Council. State funding for schools, roads, and Medicaid flows from the Louisiana Legislature. The Orleans Parish County Elections and Voter Registration Office administers local balloting under LA Election Commission oversight.

HERE New Orleans covers Orleans Parish County Council meetings, New Orleans City Council sessions, Louisiana Legislature session, federal delegation votes and town halls, school board meetings, and candidate filing windows. We also pull FOIA-sourced travel records and contracts at both the city and county level. If it shapes how Orleans Parish County is governed, it’s HERE.