Helena Moreno, New Orleans’ new mayor, was officially sworn in Monday. Her predecessor, fellow Democrat LaToya Cantrell, handed over a city that is now mired in a “terrible” financial situation.
Cantrell was elected in 2018, the Big Easy’s first female mayor. But her tenure has been a long slide toward financial ruin, capped off with federal corruption charges.
In addition to being the first female mayor, Cantrell also made history for being the first NOLA mayor to be indicted by a federal grand jury. Cantrell faces charges that include conspiracy, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. They stem from an alleged scheme with a former bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, to steer city funds into personal trips and activities that cost over $70,000, disguising personal travel as official duties, and hiding their romantic relationship. Cantrell pleaded not guilty to the 11 felony counts in September.
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New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno looks on during a city council meeting, as it is disrupted by anti-ICE and Border Patrol protestors at City Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 4, 2025. The US Department of Homeland Security announced on December 3 it has launched a federal immigration enforcement operation, named “Operation Catahoula Crunch,” in the New Orleans, Louisiana, area. (Photo by Adam GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)
As NOLA and the city council try to clean up the financial mess, Cantrell and Moreno have played the political blame game. Cantrell believes that the city council is responsible for the overspending and financial fecklessness, while Moreno, who served on the council as a vice president, has laid all the blame at the mayor’s feet. At one point in October, NOLA had to seek out a massive $125 million payday loan to prevent layoffs and furloughs among city employees. The city was swamped by overtime payments and rosy revenue projections that never actually paid off.
In one shocking example, NOLA budgeted only $45,000 for police overtime payments in 2025, but ended up spending north of $45 million.
To make matters worse, there is some clear friction between the two administrations amid the transition, Axios reported. Moreno says that “there really has not been that much communication” between each team, meetings have been few and far between, and that there was no one-on-one meeting before the inauguration Monday.
Cantrell finished off her tenure with a dismal 20% approval rating. The expectations among NOLA residents must be so low that if Moreno proves herself to be ever so slightly more competent than her predecessor, and manages to do the bare minimum by avoiding a massive corruption scandal, she will be the first female NOLA mayor … who is actually somewhat popular.
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno looks on during a city council meeting, as it is disrupted by anti-ICE and Border Patrol protestors at City Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 4, 2025. The US Department of Homeland Security announced on December 3 it has launched a federal immigration enforcement operation, named “Operation Catahoula Crunch,” in the New Orleans, Louisiana, area. (Photo by Adam GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)
As NOLA and the city council try to clean up the financial mess, Cantrell and Moreno have played the political blame game. Cantrell believes that the city council is responsible for the overspending and financial fecklessness, while Moreno, who served on the council as a vice president, has laid all the blame at the mayor’s feet. At one point in October, NOLA had to seek out a massive $125 million payday loan to prevent layoffs and furloughs among city employees. The city was swamped by overtime payments and rosy revenue projections that never actually paid off.
In one shocking example, NOLA budgeted only $45,000 for police overtime payments in 2025, but ended up spending north of $45 million.
To make matters worse, there is some clear friction between the two administrations amid the transition, Axios reported. Moreno says that “there really has not been that much communication” between each team, meetings have been few and far between, and that there was no one-on-one meeting before the inauguration Monday.
Cantrell finished off her tenure with a dismal 20% approval rating. The expectations among NOLA residents must be so low that if Moreno proves herself to be ever so slightly more competent than her predecessor, and manages to do the bare minimum by avoiding a massive corruption scandal, she will be the first female NOLA mayor … who is actually somewhat popular.
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