Helena Moreno

For the Angolan actress, see Helena Moreno (actress). For the Costa Rican swimmer, see Helena Moreno (swimmer).

Helena Nancy Moreno (born September 30, 1977) is a Mexican-American realtor, equestrienne, former journalist, and politician serving as the president of the New Orleans City Council and First Division Councilmember-at-Large.

Helena Moreno
Moreno in 2017
President of the New Orleans City Council
Incumbent
Assumed office June 2019
Preceded by	Jason Williams
Member of the New Orleans City Council from the at-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office June 2018
Preceded by	Stacy Head
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 93rd district
In office May 2010 – April 9, 2018
Preceded by	Karen Carter Peterson
Succeeded by	Royce Duplessis
Personal details
Born	Helena Nancy Moreno (1977-09-30) September 30, 1977 (age 47) Veracruz, Mexico
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Chris Meeks
Education	Southern Methodist University (BA) American University

Moreno was formerly a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, where she represented the District 93. She was elected in May 2010^[1] in a special election and re-elected unopposed in 2011.

On October 14, 2017, Moreno won the Division 1 at-large seat on the New Orleans City Council, defeating her two opponents by nearly a 2-to-1 margin and avoiding a runoff.^[2][3]

On October 8, 2024, Moreno filed paperwork to run for Mayor of New Orleans.^[4]

Early life and education

Helena Moreno was born in Veracruz, Mexico, to oil executive Felix Moreno and academic Nancy Pearson Moreno.^[5] Her family later moved to Houston, Texas, where she graduated from Episcopal High School in 1995. In 1999, she earned a degree in mass communication from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. While at SMU, she wrote for the Daily Campus newspaper. Moreno also studied at American University in Washington, D.C., where she interned at the White House for First Lady Hillary Clinton. Fluent in English and Spanish, she spent six months studying in Madrid, Spain.

Career

Journalism

Prior to graduation from SMU, Moreno completed internships with KTRK-TV and KHOU-TV in Houston. After graduation, she went to WTOC-TV in Savannah, Georgia, whence she was recruited by Hearst-Argyle Broadcasting Corporation for WDSU-TV in New Orleans. At WDSU, Moreno became anchor for the morning news. While covering Hurricane Katrina, Moreno received accolades such as Broadcaster of the Year from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, though these awards came amid widespread criticism of media coverage during the disaster. She was voted best television reporter by Gambit readers for four years and won an Emmy for Hurricane Katrina coverage.

She left her broadcast news career in 2008 to pursue public service.^[6]

Politics

In March 2008, Moreno resigned from WDSU to challenge then-incumbent United States Representative William J. Jefferson in Louisiana's 2nd congressional district Democratic primary election.^[7] Her campaign leveraged dissatisfaction with post-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, focusing on criticism rather than specific policy solutions. She received sufficient votes to force the incumbent into a runoff election, which she lost.^[8]

Jefferson was subsequently defeated, in the general election, by Republican Joseph Cao, whom Moreno had endorsed along with that of other Democrats such as City Councilwomen Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson and Stacy Head.^[9]

In 2010, after the election of Karen Carter Peterson to the Louisiana State Senate, Moreno became a candidate for Peterson's vacated District 93 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.^[10] The special election primary occurred on 2010 May 1,^[11] with Moreno obtaining 27 percent of the vote and entering a runoff election with James Perry, who had 38 percent.^[12] Her runoff campaign was overshadowed by personal controversies, including allegations of traffic violations, which were a central focus.^[13] However, Perry's handling of the allegations two weeks before the runoff led the Times-Picayune, which earlier had endorsed Perry, to withdraw its endorsement of him.^[14]

Personal life

Moreno is also a realtor with Talbot Realty Group in New Orleans and resides in Uptown, New Orleans with her husband, Chris Meeks.^[15]

Involvement in fatal car crash

On October 14, 2002, a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Moreno struck another car that had run a red light at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Carondelet Street, according to a police report. A passenger in the other car died. According to the report, Moreno admitted to driving 35 in a 25 mph zone, and the investigator determined that the other car ran the red light.^[16]

In 2010, her involvement in a fatal traffic accident was publicly scrutinized, with opponents raising allegations of negligent homicide and preferential treatment by law enforcement.^[17]