NEW ORLEANS — Local businessman and reality television star Sidney Torres IV has decided not to run for mayor.
He announced his decision Friday morning on social media, noting that although he is “frustrated by a lack of leadership” in the city, he will instead focus on a new political action committee he formed called “The Voice of the People.”
“Like many of our citizens though, I am frustrated by a lack of leadership, selfish political posturing, and an unwillingness to find collaborative solutions to age old problems,” Torres said. “Therefore, even though I will not be a candidate for our city’s top job, I will do everything possible to ensure that the next mayor wants the responsibility, not just the title.”
Torres had been mulling a run for several months. He told WGNO this week that he hired a “strategist” and assembled a team to run his potential mayoral campaign, and also put together a second team to help him craft an announcement that he won’t run.
Torres is best known for his garbage company that cleaned up the streets of the French Quarter following Hurricane Katrina and his French Quarter Task Force to combat and prevent crime in the quarter.
“I enjoy using my business success to promote the many wonderful qualities of this majestic city,” he said.
Torres said the new political action committee will focus on using “our power to vote,” and to hold the next mayor accountable “to deliver solutions, not soundbites.”
“In the past two mayoral elections, less than half of the electorate cast a ballot to choose who leads our city,” he said. “That’s unacceptable by any standards.”