According to just about any credible poll you can dig up, Helena Moreno has built and clung to a commanding ~30% lead in the race for New Orleans mayor. But The Poll, on Saturday, will reveal whether or not her base is strong enough to forestall attempts by her opponents to force a runoff.
In Tuesday's interview on WWL, Oliver Thomas made clear his belief that the competition for New Orleans mayor is far from over.
"Folk have tried to make this a crowning," Thomas stated. "They’ve tried to create an atmosphere that the election was over, and I think they’ve made a big mistake trying to do that.”
Republican candidate Frank Janusa, who joined WWL on Wednesday, spoke of his hopes that campaign efforts have successfully chipped away at Moreno's Republican supporters.
"Five weeks ago, I was an asterisk in the poll, indicating less than 1%. Three or four weeks ago, I was polling at 7%," Janusa said. "So something is happening somewhere. Am I draining Republican votes from the other candidate(s)? Possibly."
Other top-polling candidates, Duplessis in particular, continue leveraging their war chests to produce negative attack ads on Moreno, attempting to cast a shadow over her record and intentions.
Duplessis' website outlines its criticisms of Moreno, which, among other things, call her a "Self-serving politician, "Part of Chaos at City Hall," "Out of Touch and Corporate Backed."
Does any of this worry the frontrunner heading into Saturday?
Thursday, two days before the elections, Moreno joined Newell Normand and Dave Cohen to address the comments and the attacks. She also made a final appeal to undecided voters by defining New Orleans' greatest needs and laying out her plan for leading New Orleans out of what she calls an administration that "Lost sight of basic city services."
Full interview with Helena Moreno below
New Orleans biggest challenge, according to Helena Moreno
"The most important issue facing our city right now is that it's too hard to live here and people are leaving New Orleans," Moreno says. "Whether it's lack of opportunity, whether it is affordability, whether it's just your basic services. It's just too hard to live."
Moreno cites an example of growing frustration that too many New Orleanians have grown accustomed to.
"I got a text from someone yesterday. Last night. Apparently, somebody in a stolen car was going really fast down the street. Hit his car and hit other people's cars and (caused) a huge wreck in the middle of the street," Moreno explains. "Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but he was like, 'My car has been hit twice before. And now this has happened. Helena, my kids are in school here and I wanna stay here, but this city is pushing me out.'"
From pothole repair to a Safety & Permits Department, Moreno states, "This administration lost sight of basic city services. So that's why I have to refocus everything, and immediately start being a laser pinpointing our issues on basic services, getting those reset, getting those right, and then people in the city will start to boost their confidence. And the whole morale, the whole vibe of the city, I'm telling you, will change."
What a return to basic city services would look like
If elected, Moreno lists a few basic priorities that her administration would focus on during the first 100 days. "Getting a street maintenance program really working and effective so that we are not just riddled with potholes everywhere you go, traffic lights that work, (ensuring) we have a real asset management system for street lights... drainage, making sure that our catch basins are getting cleaned, focusing on that."
Additionally, Moreno states she's prioritized two city departments most in need of a total rehaul: Safety & Permits and Department of Public Works (DPW).
Moreno calls Safety & Permits, "A complete barrier to any type of progress in our city. Even if you want to open a business in the city of New Orleans, to try to get your occupational permit, that alone takes way too long. So starting the revamp of Safety & Permits, which I know I can do and create some changes within three months, with a whole revamp within a year to 15 months."
"And then also finally getting DPW to stop outsourcing things," Moreno continues. "We don't need to be outsourcing and bringing more things in-house. And then we have to create the opportunity piece. And that opportunity piece really comes with creating a robust economic development department. Our economic development is very small and mostly only deals with real estate transactions in the downtown area. We need to expand that footprint."
Recapturing the Super-Bowl-mentality
Something many have pointed out in frustration is that the city is fully capable of operating as it should, but only does so during big moments. Moreno shares this concern.
"We know it can be done because we saw it done during the Super Bowl," Moreno recollects. "And this was, by the way, at the directive of the mayor. She said: Every city department, you have to meet every week with all of our outside stakeholders, with GNO Inc., with state government, with Entergy, you name it, to troubleshoot the issues across the city."
"And these issues were troubleshot," Moreno continues. "And we were ready for the Super Bowl. But then once the Super Bowl ended, you know, it went back to business as usual."
Moreno also expresses that it takes a mayor who is willing to work with the city council, rather than see them as competition. And, more broadly, she affirms the need to deal with excess among top-level leadership.
"What I see is there's actually a lot of bloat at the top. There are appointed leadership positions that I don't think are necessary," Moreno says. "And there are some who are also being paid a lot of money. And what I would like to do is figure out a path to actually have the right people in place and not so many high-paid leadership spots that aren't necessarily providing the necessary benefit to the people of the city."
Addressing Duplessis's 'Divisive politics'
"I just think it's this level of divisive politics being inserted into the mayor's race," Moreno says of attack ads and comments from opponent Royce Duplessis.
"Certainly, you really can't attack my record because I have such a record of accomplishment. You can't attack me for not being a fighter for the people because there's one example after the next that that's what I do. You can't attack me on my ethics. And so, therefore, you're going to use divisive tactics to try to separate our community," Moreno continues.
Duplessis' campaign has run ads accusing Moreno of missing the majority of city council budget committee meetings and attempting to block city contracts with black-owned businesses.
In response, Moreno tells WWL, "There have been legislative items that have moved through the city council to enhance and support black-owned businesses here in the city of New Orleans and to enhance black participation with city contracting in the City of New Orleans."
"Over the past eight years, guess who has led all of those initiatives? I have," Moreno continues. "And did that in partnership with The Collaborative, which is a group that advocates for black owned small businesses, is strongly supporting me. Which is why I have people like civil rights activist, Barbara Major, strongly supporting me because she worked hand in hand with me on these issues."
"And that's what people are looking for in their next mayor," Moreno concludes. "They're sick and tired of people who are just talking and... not really getting anything done. They are sick and tired. It's time for us to get the city in shape. It's time to get this city in order. People want a mayor who's gonna get things done, and they know that that's what Helena has always been, and that's what I'll be as your mayor."