Hedge-Morrell's service in the District D seat on the city council began with a special election on April 2, 2005, to fill the seat vacated by newly elected Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman. David Payton had held the post on an interim basis but did not enter the special election, which was held some four months before Hurricane Katrina struck. Hedge-Morrell instead defeated a Republican candidate, Eustis J. Guillemet, Jr., 4,959 votes to 912. District D includes Gentilly and parts of the Upper Ninth Ward, the neighborhoods that were the most seriously damaged by the levee failures of 2005 that accompanied Hurricane Katrina. Hedge-Morrell was re-elected in 2006 but with a reduced majority. A number of her colleagues faced voter dissatisfaction stemming from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. MayorRay Nagin won re-election only after facing a much tougher challenge than expected before the hurricane and half of the members who wished to stay were not returned to the city council. In 2007, Hedge-Morrell faced a political scandal when she was pulled over by Louisiana State Police for driving 100 mph on Interstate 10. She yelled at the state trooper, "Do you know who I am?... What the hell are you stopping me for?" She later apologized for the incident. She appeared in the documentary political film directed by Leslie Carde America Betrayed. In 2014, Hedge-Morrell was term-limited in her District D council seat and instead ran unsuccessfully for the Division 2 at-large seat. She was defeated by a two-to-one margin by her fellow Democrat, Jason Williams.
Personal life
Since 1966, Hedge-Morrell has been married to Arthur A. Morrell, who served as a state representative for District 97 from 1984 to 2006, when he was elected as the Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court. District 97 roughly covers the same area as District D. Hedge-Morrell and her husband were among the participants in movie director Spike Lee's documentary . One of the Morrells' four sons, Jean-Paul Morrell, succeeded his father in the state House and served from 2006 to 2009, when he joined the Louisiana State Senate, where he remains in office. Two other sons, Todd and Nicholas Morrell, are officers with the New Orleans Police Department.
Election History
Councilmember, District D, 2005 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, April 2, 2005
Candidate
Affiliation
Support
Outcome
Cynthia Hedge-Morrell
Democratic
4,959
Elected
Eustis A. Guillemet
Republican
912
Defeated
Councilmember, District D, 2006 Threshold > 50% First Ballot, April 22, 2006
