Helena Moreno sworn in as New Orleans mayor under storm clouds of budget deficit, layoffs

Helena Moreno was sworn in as New Orleans’ 63rd mayor Monday, taking the oath of office under the artificial starry skies and amidst the pastiche neoclassical interiors of the Saenger Theatre — officially kicking off her first term as mayor of New Orleans.

Moreno is the second woman — after outgoing Mayor LaToya Cantrell — and the first Hispanic mayor to lead the city.

Moreno was joined by former Vice President Kamala Harris, who administered the oath of office to the mayor after giving a short speech, where she described Moreno as “talented but tough.”

“She believes in fairness and in the simple yet fundamental principle that elected leaders must be accountable to the people they serve,” Harris said. “Helena, I know you will be a mayor who will lead with integrity, with courage and with the people of New Orleans always at the center of your work.”

In her inaugural address, Moreno lauded the virtues of faith, hope and love in her work to serve and lead the city.

“This is our time to build that functional city that we all deserve together,” Moreno said. “We will build a New Orleans that is safe, where we can drive down the street without busting up the car, where there is no limit to realizing a dream, and where our children have endless opportunities for success, where our seniors live not in fear or uncertainty, but in dignity and insecurity. We want a New Orleans that works for everyone.”

The seven members of the New City Council — which will be led by two Black at-large councilmembers for the first time in the city’s history — were also sworn in at the ceremony, which featured music by The Soul Rebels and Trombone Shorty, among others, and included appearances by beloved local chef Emeril Lagasse and local philanthropist and New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, as well as a host of local, state and federal politicians, including Cantrell.

The inauguration ceremony caps off a weekend of celebrations, which included a festival at Lafayette Square and a mass at St. Louis Cathedral. The Crescent City Connection bridge and the Superdome were also adorned in blue and gold lights — Moreno’s campaign colors — over the weekend. Moreno’s transition team will lead a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, after weather concerns delayed an initial plan to do it Saturday.

Monday’s ceremony seemed designed to showcase her diverse political coalition and breadth of relationships by including prominent Republicans such as U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Louisiana state Senate President Cameron Henry alongside local Democratic heavyweights such U.S. House Rep. Troy Carter and state Sen. Jimmy Harris in the ceremony.

“Let’s face it, these are complicated and troubling times; conflict and division are all around us,” Moreno said. “Some will continue to try to divide us, but we must choose to come together for our future. Today, you’ve seen local, state and federal leaders on all sides of politics come together to support the future of our exceptional city. We have more in common than divides us.”

Despite the optimism on display at Monday’s ceremony, Moreno will assume office under stormy conditions.

The city faces a projected $220 million deficit this year. To cover the deficit, Moreno, along with outgoing District A councilmember and incoming Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso, have clawed back $14.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, called for the furloughing of approximately 700 city employees and handed out pink slips to dozens of employees.

The latest round of layoffs, which included cuts to the Office of Resilience and Sustainability, caused a stir last week. Employees say they had previously been told they would still have a job in the Moreno administration by aides close to the mayor, according to recently fired employees who spoke to Verite News. A Moreno spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the firings.

Many of the other cuts came from subdepartments of the mayor’s office, including the Office of Youth and Families and the Office of Criminal Justice Coordination, which were both shuttered altogether.

Those employees were “unclassified” political appointees, meaning they are not covered by the city’s civil service system. Many such appointees enjoy higher salaries and quicker hiring processes than classified civil service workers. But unlike civil service workers, they are “at-will” employees who serve at the pleasure of the mayor and can be fired without cause or an appeals process.

On Monday morning, shortly after the inauguration concluded, the Office of Youth and Families sent out an email thanking the people of New Orleans for their support of the office as it closes.

“As our dedicated staff steps away from this work, we do so with pride in what we have built together,” the email read. “While we will no longer be here, our commitment to the wellbeing of children, youth, and families continues through the City of New Orleans Health Department, where this work will carry forward.”

Amanda Fallis, the president of the city workers’ union AFSCME Local 2349, said that the union has been in talks with Moreno and Giarrusso about furloughs and layoffs — and that union officials would meet with Moreno again tomorrow (Jan. 13) on her second day in office.

“AFSCME Local 2349 has greatly appreciated Mayor Moreno and CAO Giarrusso and their teams’ willingness to meet with us, even before officially being sworn into office,” Fallis said. “We look forward to partnering with them to follow the terms of our collective bargaining agreement regarding 45 days notice from City administration regarding any layoffs of classified employees, probationary or not.”

Despite the slew of challenges facing Moreno, she sounded a hopeful note in her inaugural address.

“We know that things are not exactly where we want them to be today, and we know that it’s not going to be easy to fix these things, but just because things are hard does not mean that they’re impossible,” she said. “We stand here on a turning point as we face challenging times, and we must be clear that failure is not an option. Not anymore. There’s just too much at stake.”

This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.