New Orleans has a new mayor - she is Helena Moreno!
About 3 years ago I became totally disgusted with Mayor LaToya Cantrell and one of her many acts of entitlement that stained her reign as mayor of our great city and I said on the air that I am looking forward to the day when I play the song “She’s Gone” by Darryl Hall and John Oates. Today was the day I played that song!
The nightmare that was the Cantrell Administration will become but a faded memory hopefully replaced by happier thoughts of a new direction for New Orleans.
Mayor Moreno’s mission statement is a simple question, “Are you ALL IN for New Orleans?” The idea of being “ALL IN” promotes a positive involvement in our city by the citizens who live in the city and those who live in surrounding suburban areas who work and/or play in the city. The idea of being “ALL IN” suggests that it will take all of us to participate in the resurgence of New Orleans.
New Orleans was extremely popular as a tourist, convention, or sporting event destination even when Cantrell was mayor. The mayor of any city has little impact on the tourists that visit that city. We don’t think about who the mayor of a city is when we go on vacation. But who is mayor of a city may have a direct impact on those living in surrounding areas as to whether or not they will visit the city. In the case of New Orleans, I feel like the city was shrouded in a negative cloud of unacceptable politics and many who lived outside of the city made a point to express their feelings about Mayor Cantrell by not going to the city.
While political parties matter less on a local level than a national level, I feel like Helena Moreno projects a more moderate political position and there was reaction from conservatives in the area who are celebrating the new mayor even if she is a Democrat.
Reaction to the swearing in of Mayor Moreno there were some who expressed the idea that she is being celebrated because she is a very attractive white female with blonde hair. New Orleans has a majority black population and I was quick to shut down the playing of the race card because Helena Moreno would not have been elected if she had not won over the Black vote. In fact, I believe it was Mayor Cantrell, an African-American, who taught many New Orleans voters that just because a person shares your skin color does not mean she has your interest in mind. The moment she was re-elected and knew she would not face the voters again, Cantrell changed and one controversy after another demonstrated that she only cared about herself and the idea of being a public servant to the people who elected her was trumped by her egotistic desire to act like royalty.
Mayor Moreno will have serious challenges because of how Mayor Cantrell left this city, but I believe she will ultimately persevere. It will take time and many of the early decisions Mayor Moreno will have to make will not be pretty and will have a negative impact on some people, but some hard decisions will have to be made to correct the course of the city.
I am “ALL IN” and I hope you are, too. My hope is that our new mayor will ignite a new, positive attitude in New Orleans that will have a ripple effect into businesses and into the individual lives of the citizens of the city and those in the suburban areas who want to come back to New Orleans.
Mayor Helena Moreno represents a positive new beginning for New Orleans! Let us all ride this wave.