With just months left in her second and final term, and engulfed now by a criminal indictment issued Friday, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s near-decade-long leadership of city government may be over for all practical purposes.

Any progress on projects and initiatives in New Orleans will come through the efforts of others, say City Council members, business leaders and neighborhood activists.

They say they expect the mayor to concentrate on her legal battles in the coming weeks and months, stay mostly out of public sight and do little to promote the remaining items on her agenda.

Other elected officials are likely to steer clear of Cantrell, who seems to have few remaining political allies.

“When you’re a lame duck, there’s very little you can do productively,” said Gary Clark, a

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