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.
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]
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]
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 electionprimary 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 25mph 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]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helena Moreno.
References
↑ Moreno wins seat in the state House in Times-Picayune, 2010 May 30, Metro Edition, p. B1 (accessed 2010 May 30) James Perry in a special electionrunoff. She received 56 percent (1274 votes) to Perry's 44 percent (1011 votes); turnout was 8.8 percent (Election returnsArchived February 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine from the Louisiana Secretary of State, 2010 May 29) Retrieved June 1, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
