New Orleans
AP
—
New Orleans City Council member Helena Moreno was elected mayor Saturday within the race to succeed LaToya Cantrell, who’s ending a turbulent second time period shadowed by federal corruption charges.
Moreno, 48, secured an outright victory with 55% of the vote with all precincts reporting, in line with preliminary outcomes from the Louisiana secretary of state.
The Democrat averted a runoff in a large area by beating out Oliver Thomas, a fellow council member, and state Sen. Royce Duplessis. She will take workplace in January.
Cantrell, who couldn’t run once more due to time period limits, was the first woman mayor within the metropolis’s 300-year historical past and later received reelection. But a rocky second time period included clashes with City Council members and surviving a recall effort in 2022.
In August, Cantrell was indicted over what federal prosecutors say was a yearslong scheme to cover a romantic relationship together with her former bodyguard. She has pleaded not guilty to costs of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction.
Moreno’s marketing campaign raised greater than $3.4 million, greater than every other candidate, and centered her platform on selling public security, financial growth and improved metropolis companies.
Born in Mexico, Moreno moved to the US when she was 8 years previous. She arrived in New Orleans as a tv reporter within the early 2000s earlier than switching to politics, turning into a Louisiana state consultant in 2010 and successful election as a New Orleans City Council member at-large in 2017.
The metropolis elected a brand new mayor as President Donald Trump has urged that New Orleans might be one of his next targets to ship the National Guard to combat crime.
Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has additionally asked for a deployment however the Trump administration has but to make an announcement on the request. Moreno has stated she opposes federal troops in New Orleans.