In 1962, Landrieu ran for New Orleans City Council and lost. In 1966, he was elected councilman-at-large, defeating incumbent Joseph V. DiRosa.[7][11] In 1969, he led a successful push for a city ordinance outlawing segregation based on race or religion in public accommodations, an issue that had been addressed nationally in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[3] As councilman, Landrieu also voted to remove the Confederate flag from the council chambers and voted to establish a biracial human relations committee. He succeeded with both votes.[12][13]
On May 3, 1970, the day before he took his oath of office as mayor, Landrieu received a death threat by telephone, but authorities quickly caught the culprit.[17] During his tenure as mayor, Landrieu oversaw desegregation of city government and public facilities and encouraged integration within business and professional organizations.[3] Before Landrieu was elected, there were no high-ranking black employees or officials in City Hall; he worked actively to change this by appointing African Americans to top positions, including Terrence R. Duvernay as chief administrative officer, the number two position in the executive branch of city government.[7][18] (Duvernay went on to become U.S. deputy secretary of housing and urban development under the president, Bill Clinton, in 1993.)[7]
When Landrieu took office in 1970, African Americans made up 19 percent of city employees; by 1978, this number had risen to 43 percent.[19] He also appointed Reverend A. L. Davis to fill a temporary vacancy on the City Council; Davis was the city's first black city councilor. Landrieu also employed an African American assistant: Robert H. Tucker, Jr.[20]
Landrieu obtained federal funds for the revitalization of New Orleans' poor neighborhoods, and he promoted the involvement of minority-owned businesses in the city's economic life.[7] Like his predecessor, Landrieu presided over continued suburban-style growth in the Algiers and New Orleans East districts, with Algiers essentially built-out, having exited its greenfield development stage, by the end of his administration.[21] He advocated the creation of the Downtown Development District to revitalize the New Orleans CBD, and worked to promote the city's tourism industry. His tourism-related projects included the Moon Walk, a riverfront promenade facing the French Quarter, the $163 million Louisiana Superdome,[22] and renovations of the French Market and Jackson Square.[7]
By the midpoint of Schiro's mayoral administration, an accelerating number of building demolitions were approved and other projects were also being contemplated, such as the elevated Claiborne Expressway and Riverfront Expressway segments of I-10.[21] Landrieu authorized the 1972 New Orleans Housing and Neighborhood Preservation Study.[23] Most of that study's recommendations were enacted by Landrieu, including the 1976 establishment of the Historic District Landmarks Commission ("HDLC"), which extended design review and demolition controls for the first time to parts of New Orleans outside the French Quarter.[23]
During 1975–1976, Landrieu served as president of the United States Conference of Mayors.[24] He was reelected in 1974 and served until April 1978.[3] After leaving office, he was succeeded by Dutch Morial, the city's first black mayor.[25] Landrieu was the last white elected mayor of New Orleans until his son, Mitch, was elected in 2010.[26]
"Moon" was a childhood nickname of Landrieu's. He legally changed his first name to "Moon" in 1969 during his first mayoral campaign.[22][29] In 1954, Landrieu married Verna Satterlee, and they had nine children; among them are former U.S. senatorMary Landrieu, who served from 1997 to 2015, and the former mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu.[3][22] The family is Catholic.[33]
Landrieu died at home in New Orleans on September 5, 2022, at age 92.[3][34] The cause of death was heart failure after having a heart attack.[35][36] His death was confirmed by longtime aide Ryan Berni.[3]
^"Moon Landrieu". Louisiana Political Museum. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
^"Moon Landrieu Collection"(PDF). Special Collections & Archives, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans. Retrieved April 28, 2022.