Lesli Harris

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Lesli Harris

Democratic Party

New Orleans City Council District B

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

3

Predecessor

Jay Banks

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

October 11, 2025

Contact

Official website

Personal LinkedIn

Lesli Harris (Democratic Party) is a member of the New Orleans City Council in Louisiana, representing District B. She assumed office on January 10, 2022.

Harris (Democratic Party) won re-election to the New Orleans City Council to represent District B in Louisiana outright in the primary on October 11, 2025, after the primary and general election were canceled.

Elections

2025

See also: City elections in New Orleans, Louisiana (2025)

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Lesli Harris (D) won the election without appearing on the ballot.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2021

See also: City elections in New Orleans, Louisiana (2021)

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

General election

General election for New Orleans City Council District B

Lesli Harris defeated incumbent Jay Banks in the general election for New Orleans City Council District B on December 11, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lesli Harris (D)	56.6	6,243
		Jay Banks (D)	43.4	4,790

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,033
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for New Orleans City Council District B

Incumbent Jay Banks and Lesli Harris defeated Rella Zapletal and Rosalind Reed-Thibodeaux in the primary for New Orleans City Council District B on November 13, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Banks (D)	44.6	5,896
✔		Lesli Harris (D)	36.7	4,850
		Rella Zapletal (D)	14.2	1,884
	Submit photo	Rosalind Reed-Thibodeaux (Independent)	4.5	598

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,228
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Timothy David Ray (D)

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lesli Harris did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Lesli Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Harris' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I care about New Orleans and District B. I come from a family that looks like New Orleans – racially and economically diverse. And, after living in District B for 20 years, I understand the fundamental needs of our community. Everyone wants the same basic things – affordable housing, education for their kids, safety, and economic opportunity. And they want someone who can understand and champion those needs. I am that person and I hope that the people of District B will support me. We Deserve Better

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Better Education
• Better Infrastructure
• Better Safety

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Educational opportunities, including early childhood education, afterschool programs, and an option to train in the trades.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2025 Elections

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Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Officeholder

New Orleans City Council District B

Website

Personal

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Jay Banks (D)	New Orleans City Council District B 2022–Present	Succeeded by NA