City councilmember and former TV journalist Helena Moreno took home 55% of the vote this past Saturday, securing her position as New Orleans’ next mayor. Moreno’s term will start in January. Until then, she will continue her position on the city council, which is currently deliberating on the operating budget for the city next year.
If Moreno had not received over half the vote, the race would have gone to a runoff election with the next top contender. Moreno beat out state Sen. Royce Duplessis and City Councilmember Oliver Thomas, neither of whom received more than 22% of the vote.
“We’re about to take this city in a whole new direction, so that you can always, always call New Orleans home,” Moreno said to the press on Saturday night after her win.
Moreno built her campaign on improving efficiency in the city and creating a long-term plan to meet the city’s needs. She has advocated for expanded economic opportunity, criminal justice reform and gender equality.
As mayor, Moreno said she is looking forward to partnering with universities in New Orleans to coordinate their ability to be “powerful incubators for new ideas, innovation, and economic dynamism,” in an email interview with The Tulane Hullabaloo last month.
Moreno said public education at the University of New Orleans, Southern University at New Orleans and Delgado Community College is currently severely underfunded. Moreno attributed the city’s unstable tourism economy in part to this lack of funding for public education.
“So, while Tulane has flourished, SUNO and UNO have struggled even to keep their doors open, and nearly all Delgado students are pursuing a degree in General Studies,” Moreno said. “At the same time, even our private universities, such as Loyola, Dillard, and Xavier, have dealt with their own enrollment and funding crises in recent years.”
Tourism is the economic engine of New Orleans, generating more than $5 billion in visitor spending and an additional $250 million in tax revenues. However, an economy based on tourism is particularly susceptible to external factors like inflation or other shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Louisiana state government holds most of the power over public education funding. In her position as mayor, Moreno would not be able to single-handedly increase the budgets for UNO, SUNO or Delgado. However, Moreno said she intends to partner with higher education institutions in the city during her tenure.
To expand access to higher education, Moreno said she will increase opportunities for high school students to visit college campuses in the city and take classes to earn college credit. This also includes providing free RTA bus passes for students to travel around the city.
“Colleges and universities also need to ensure that our young people not only enter college but also graduate with a promising future ahead of them. That includes financial aid, counseling, and other support services,” Moreno said.
For the Uptown community specifically, Moreno said she will continue to fight against “doubles to dorms,” the practice of landlords renting out small rooms to university students at steep prices.
In her role as mayor, Moreno will have more control over the city’s zoning and land use laws than she did in her role as councilmember. The City Council still holds the legislative power to create or change zoning laws.
“The good news is that both Loyola and Tulane have recently opened large amounts of on-campus housing, which is making substantial progress in addressing the D2D problem through the rental market,” Moreno said. “Nevertheless, we need to continue to fight to preserve neighborhoods and our neighbors’ ability to live here. The people of New Orleans make New Orleans what it is. When we get priced out, it hurts what makes this place special.”
Bryce Oufnac contributed to the reporting of this story