Marc Morial
Encyclopedia
Marc Haydel Morial is an American
political and civic leader and the current president of the National Urban League
. Morial served as mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
from 1994 to 2002. He is married to Michelle Miller
, who has won awards as a CBS News Correspondent.
in 1976, then received a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia in 1980. Morial joined Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity. Morial next earned a J.D. law degree in 1983 from Georgetown University
in Washington, DC.
from 1986 to 1988.
After an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1990, in which he came in second place and was defeated in a runoff by Bill Jefferson, Morial ran for the Louisiana
state senate in 1992. He won and served until 1994.
He ran for mayor of New Orleans in 1994 and followed his father by being elected. He ran again in 1998
and was re-elected. One of his opponents in the 1994 mayoral election
was Mitch Landrieu
, also the son of a former mayor. Landrieu was elected Mayor of New Orleans in 2010.
as Police Superintendent. On Pennington's first day of work, Morial introduced the new superintendent to investigators from the FBI. Together they worked to rout out corruption in the New Orleans Police Department. During the first seven years of his time as mayor, Morial’s approval rating stayed at or near 70%.
The growth of the city's tourist and convention sector accelerated appreciably during Morial's mayoralty, boosted in part by the general economic growth of the United States
in the late 1990s. Tourism boomed during Marc Morial's mayoralty; the city’s downtown core saw the construction of 14 new hotels during his tenure. This development was due in part to the much-publicized reduction in New Orleans’ high crime rate through the effective leadership of Morial’s Superintendent of Police, Richard Pennington
. Of particular significance was the 60% reduction achieved in the city’s violent crime rate. These real gains enabled a resurgence of interest and investment in the city's older historic neighborhoods
. New Orleans benefited from an increase in downtown population. The number of households within the city limits stabilized for the first time since beginning their decline in the 1960s, a significant accomplishment. Morial also secured bond issues for street improvements, the Canal Street streetcar line
, and an expansion of the city’s convention center.
Morial worked to institute fairness into the city's contracting policies. He reached out to black-owned businesses, encouraging them to apply for contracts. He also enforced the city’s residency rule for police officers and other city workers, which had previously been unevenly enforced.
Two of the most well-known accomplishments of his administration dealt with professional sports: NBA
basketball
returned to the city after Morial orchestrated negotiations for the league's Charlotte Hornets to relocate there. Secondly, following the September 11, 2001 attacks
, Morial persuaded the organizers of a large automotive exposition to change its date so that Super Bowl XXXVI
(held at the Louisiana Superdome
) could be played one week later than originally scheduled, enabling the NFL
to keep its post-season tournament fully intact. The week of regular-season games slated to be played on the weekend following the attacks had to be postponed and was transferred to the end of the regular season.
Based on his achievements in reducing crime and reforming the police department, Morial easily won re-election to a second term in 1998 New Orleans Mayoral Election
. In the 1998 Mayoral Election
, Morial received 79% of the votes, while his opponents Paul D. Borrello received 1% and Kathleen Cresson received 20%. Like his father, Dutch Morial, Marc Morial made an attempt to amend the city charter to run for a third term as mayor in 2002. It was tied to his campaign to save the New Orleans Public School System
by assuming control of the city's public schools
to turn around their performance. He was trying the approach of other mayors, such as Richard M. Daley
in Chicago
. But, 61% of the voters rejected the proposed amendment to the New Orleans City Charter.
From 2001 to 2002, Morial was President of the United States Conference of Mayors.
, one of the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organizations. His tenure began on May 15, 2003. Morial is now being mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor of Louisiana in 2011.
Morial served as a member of the Debt Reduction Task Force at the Bipartisan Policy Center
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political and civic leader and the current president of the National Urban League
National Urban League
The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...
. Morial served as mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
from 1994 to 2002. He is married to Michelle Miller
Michelle Miller
Michelle Miller is a correspondent for CBS News and has served as a substitute anchor on "The CBS Evening News" Weekend Editions and CBS News Up to the Minute.Miller was born in Los Angeles, California...
, who has won awards as a CBS News Correspondent.
Early life and educations
Marc Morial grew up in New Orleans, in the 7th ward. He is the son of New Orleans' first African-American mayor, the late Ernest N. "Dutch" Morial, and teacher Sybil (Haydel) Morial. He is the second of five children. Morial graduated from Jesuit High SchoolJesuit High School (New Orleans)
Jesuit High School is an all-male Catholic high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. The school was founded in 1847. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans....
in 1976, then received a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in Philadelphia in 1980. Morial joined Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity. Morial next earned a J.D. law degree in 1983 from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, DC.
Career
Morial opened a private law practice in New Orleans. He also served as a board member for the Louisiana American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
from 1986 to 1988.
After an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1990, in which he came in second place and was defeated in a runoff by Bill Jefferson, Morial ran for the Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
state senate in 1992. He won and served until 1994.
He ran for mayor of New Orleans in 1994 and followed his father by being elected. He ran again in 1998
New Orleans mayoral election, 1998
The New Orleans mayoral election of 1998 was held on February 7, 1998, and resulted in the reelection of incumbent Marc Morial to a second term as Mayor of New Orleans....
and was re-elected. One of his opponents in the 1994 mayoral election
New Orleans mayoral election, 1994
The New Orleans mayoral election of 1994 resulted in the election of Marc Morial as Mayor of New Orleans.- Background :Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot;...
was Mitch Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
, also the son of a former mayor. Landrieu was elected Mayor of New Orleans in 2010.
Morial as mayor
In the 1994 election for mayor, Morial defeated Donald Mintz with 54% of the vote. He campaigned with the promise to “clean out City Hall with a shovel not a broom.” The issue of endemic corruption in the city's Police Department was addressed after Morial hired Richard PenningtonRichard Pennington
Richard Pennington served as police chief of Atlanta, Georgia from 2002 to 2009. From 1994 to 2002 he served as police chief of New Orleans, Louisiana....
as Police Superintendent. On Pennington's first day of work, Morial introduced the new superintendent to investigators from the FBI. Together they worked to rout out corruption in the New Orleans Police Department. During the first seven years of his time as mayor, Morial’s approval rating stayed at or near 70%.
The growth of the city's tourist and convention sector accelerated appreciably during Morial's mayoralty, boosted in part by the general economic growth of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the late 1990s. Tourism boomed during Marc Morial's mayoralty; the city’s downtown core saw the construction of 14 new hotels during his tenure. This development was due in part to the much-publicized reduction in New Orleans’ high crime rate through the effective leadership of Morial’s Superintendent of Police, Richard Pennington
Richard Pennington
Richard Pennington served as police chief of Atlanta, Georgia from 2002 to 2009. From 1994 to 2002 he served as police chief of New Orleans, Louisiana....
. Of particular significance was the 60% reduction achieved in the city’s violent crime rate. These real gains enabled a resurgence of interest and investment in the city's older historic neighborhoods
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. New Orleans benefited from an increase in downtown population. The number of households within the city limits stabilized for the first time since beginning their decline in the 1960s, a significant accomplishment. Morial also secured bond issues for street improvements, the Canal Street streetcar line
Streetcars in New Orleans
Streetcars in New Orleans have been an integral part of the city's public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans' streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world,...
, and an expansion of the city’s convention center.
Morial worked to institute fairness into the city's contracting policies. He reached out to black-owned businesses, encouraging them to apply for contracts. He also enforced the city’s residency rule for police officers and other city workers, which had previously been unevenly enforced.
Two of the most well-known accomplishments of his administration dealt with professional sports: NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
returned to the city after Morial orchestrated negotiations for the league's Charlotte Hornets to relocate there. Secondly, following the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Morial persuaded the organizers of a large automotive exposition to change its date so that Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
(held at the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
) could be played one week later than originally scheduled, enabling the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
to keep its post-season tournament fully intact. The week of regular-season games slated to be played on the weekend following the attacks had to be postponed and was transferred to the end of the regular season.
Based on his achievements in reducing crime and reforming the police department, Morial easily won re-election to a second term in 1998 New Orleans Mayoral Election
New Orleans mayoral election, 1998
The New Orleans mayoral election of 1998 was held on February 7, 1998, and resulted in the reelection of incumbent Marc Morial to a second term as Mayor of New Orleans....
. In the 1998 Mayoral Election
New Orleans mayoral election, 1998
The New Orleans mayoral election of 1998 was held on February 7, 1998, and resulted in the reelection of incumbent Marc Morial to a second term as Mayor of New Orleans....
, Morial received 79% of the votes, while his opponents Paul D. Borrello received 1% and Kathleen Cresson received 20%. Like his father, Dutch Morial, Marc Morial made an attempt to amend the city charter to run for a third term as mayor in 2002. It was tied to his campaign to save the New Orleans Public School System
New Orleans Public Schools
New Orleans Public Schools is a public school system that serves all of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Schools within the system are governed by a multitude of entities, including the Orleans Parish School Board , which directly administers 4 schools and has granted charters to another 12,...
by assuming control of the city's public schools
New Orleans Public Schools
New Orleans Public Schools is a public school system that serves all of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Schools within the system are governed by a multitude of entities, including the Orleans Parish School Board , which directly administers 4 schools and has granted charters to another 12,...
to turn around their performance. He was trying the approach of other mayors, such as Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. But, 61% of the voters rejected the proposed amendment to the New Orleans City Charter.
From 2001 to 2002, Morial was President of the United States Conference of Mayors.
After city hall
After serving as mayor, Morial was selected as President and CEO of the National Urban LeagueNational Urban League
The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...
, one of the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organizations. His tenure began on May 15, 2003. Morial is now being mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor of Louisiana in 2011.
Morial served as a member of the Debt Reduction Task Force at the Bipartisan Policy Center
Bipartisan Policy Center
The is a non-profit organization that "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue." Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, "BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking...
.
External Links/Sources
- Marc H. Morial, Biography
- National Urbal League
- Entry for Marc Morial at NNDB.
- Marc Morial interview, Tavis SmileyTavis SmileyTavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...
show - Campbell-Rock, C.C. “The Legacy of New Orleans’ African-American Mayors” The New Orleans Tribune, January 2004.
- Clanton, Brett. “Mayor measured on management, leadership skills.” New Orleans CityBusiness, October 15, 2001.
- “Commentary” Gambit Weekly, October 30, 2001.