New Orleans' mayoral election is fast approaching, with voters set to choose a successor to Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who is term-limited and ineligible for re-election in 2025.
The filing deadline to get on the ballot is in July. The primary election is on Oct. 11, and the general election will take place Nov. 15.
So far, six individuals have announced their intention to run. Most candidates bring political experience to the table, including figures like New Orleans City Councilwoman Helena Moreno and veteran Councilmember Oliver Thomas. But some stand out as outliers, like business coach Renada Collins and Ricky Twiggs, a psychotherapist.
Here’s what we know about each candidate.
Perhaps the most visible candidate so far is Moreno, the first to announce an official run for mayor.
Signs started appearing in people’s yards last summer, signaling the early stages of her campaign. In December, she made things official, announcing her bid in a video posted on social media.
Moreno, a Democrat, was elected to the city council in 2017. As a council member, she’s advocated for fair housing, worker protections and small and minority businesses. She passed legislation pardoning people arrested for marijuana possession, absolving thousands of criminal actions.
As a state representative, Moreno championed progressive causes like improving access to health care, fighting climate change and reducing unnecessary incarceration and arrests. She also authored laws to shield victims of sexual assault and keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.
In her campaign announcement, Moreno promised to work overtime to complete infrastructure projects and make the city safer.
Before entering politics, Moreno was a morning news anchor at WDSU, where she won an Emmy for her coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
Thomas, a Democrat, has served on the city council since 2022, representing District E, his home district in the Lower Ninth Ward. Between 1994 and 2007, Thomas was a council member, representing District B, but he resigned in 2007 after pleading guilty to taking $20,000 in bribes and kickbacks.
He was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison but was released in 2010.
As a council member, Thomas has focused on economic development, housing, infrastructure improvements, revitalizing neighborhoods and more. His campaign priorities include improving public safety, expanding economic opportunity and improving city services.
“Trash pickup, pothole repairs, streetlights, and drainage must be reliable—every day, in every neighborhood. Our city should be as clean every day as it is after a Mardi Gras parade—because we have the money and the resources to get it done. No more excuses—just action,” his campaign website says.
New to politics, Collins, a New Orleans native, entrepreneur and business coach is running as an independent candidate with no party affiliation.
On her campaign website, Collins says she wants to partner with the state to manage operations in the French Quarter. She is also focused on improving public schools, regulating grant money, making sidewalks safer and adding composting and recycling services to the city’s waste collection system.
WWNO was unable to locate campaign finance filings through the state for Collins campaign.
After a brief stint as a New Orleans police officer, Hunter served nearly two decades as a judge for Section K of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court before leaving office in 2020. That same year, he ran for Orleans Parish District Attorney but lost in the primary.
Hunter has been an advocate for addressing injustices in the criminal justice system. In 2012, due to a lack of funding for public defenders, Hunter assigned high-profile attorneys to represent indigent defendants. In 2023, he co-founded a career training program at Delgado Community College to help at-risk individuals.
On his campaign website, Hunter said he wanted to make the city safer by increasing the number of police officers on the streets and fostering trust within the community.
“We need to fix our streets the right way — no more patchwork jobs that fall apart in six months,” he added. “We need better opportunities for our kids. We can team up with schools, churches, medical clinics, and nonprofits to create year-round programs that keep kids safe and give them the tools they need to succeed. And we need to support local businesses so they can grow, create jobs, and bring life back to our neighborhoods.”
According to his campaign finance reports from mid-February, he has borrowed over $50,000 to start his campaign.
According to his website, Twiggs is a psychotherapist from Algiers who’s running as an independent. He’s advocating for mental health, justice, crime and health care reform along with cannabis legalization and infrastructure improvements. His 200+ page platform and transition plan can be downloaded from his website.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Twiggs said he helped establish an addiction facility in New Orleans East and expand an outpatient program for the area. He also helped unhoused women and LGBTQ+ people secure housing through NAMI New Orleans. Right now, he runs a private practice serving teens in New Orleans and surrounding areas.
His campaign provided the following statement to WWNO:
"When asked if the city was going in the right direction 59% reported that it was NOT. This tells me what we all know to be true. New Orleans is ready for new leadership. For too long, we have been governed by the same politicians who have failed us and now have the audacity to run on new promises of "change". I am the candidate that they feared would come. The candidate of the people. I am not a politician, but I am a son of this city and a challenger to the broken systems that feed on our suffering. This election is a battle for the soul of New Orleans."
Tyrell Morris
Despite facing criminal charges, Morris, the former 911 chief of New Orleans, announced his candidacy for mayor in March, WDSU reported.
"Over the last year or so, and last couple of weeks, speaking with my family, and deep prayer, it has become clear to me that this is my time to lead the city,” Morris told the outlet.
Morris was arrested on multiple charges following a car accident in 2023. He allegedly failed to file a police report and altered documents to cover up the incident. He pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, and resigned from his position. His pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 28, and his trial was set for April. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison, NOLA.com reported.
"I'm actually looking forward to the opportunity in a trial to really demonstrate to the public that I'm innocent. I was innocent from day one... all of the public documents, the reports, my voice is not represented in it at all,” Morris told WDSU.
