Helena Moreno
Encyclopedia
Helena Nancy Moreno is a state representative in Louisiana
, representing Louisiana House District 93
. She was elected on 2010 May 29. She entered office on 2010 June 8. Moreno was assigned by Speaker Jim Tucker (R
-Terrytown
) to the House committees on Administration of Criminal Justice
and on Commerce
; she joined the Democratic
Caucus
, the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus, and the Orleans Delegation
A former television newscaster, Moreno was an unsuccessful candidate for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
seat in the United States House of Representatives
in 2008. She is a media communication consultant based in New Orleans, Louisiana, affiliated with James Hartman & Associates, a multi-service political and marketing consulting firm.
, Veracruz State
, Mexico
, as the daughter of Felix and Nancy Pearson Moreno. With her parents Helena Moreno moved to Houston, Texas
, where she became a 1995 graduate of Episcopal High School
. Moreno is a 1999 graduate in mass communication
from Southern Methodist University
(SMU) in Dallas, Texas
, where she wrote for the Daily Campus; she also studied at American University
in the District of Columbia while working in the White House
for First Lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton
. A native speaker of both English and Spanish, Moreno studied for 6 months in Madrid, Spain. As of 2010 she has never married.
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 soon became anchor for the morning news. Her reporting during Hurricane Katrina
brought her numerous accolades, including a citation as Broadcaster of the Year from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers
, an affiliate of the (AFL-CIO).
in Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Democratic
primary election
. Her campaign was insistent on obtaining "the answers we deserve" concerning inadequate efforts to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
. She received sufficient votes to force the incumbent into a runoff election
, which Jefferson won.
Jefferson was subsequently defeated, in the general election, by Republican
Joseph Cao
, who had Moreno's endorsement as well as that of other Democrats such as City Council
women Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson and Stacy Head
. As of 2009, Moreno continued active in New Orleans civic circles. In 2009, she worked for EGF Partners (the Moreno family's oil firm) and for James Hartman & Associates in Mandeville, Louisiana
, before joining the New Orleans mayor
al campaign of John Georges
.
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
. The special election
primary
occurred on 2010 May 1, with Moreno obtaining 27 percent of the vote and entering a runoff election with James Perry
, who had 38 percent. Much of the runoff campaign, which Moreno won, involved personal issues of allegations of traffic violations. The allegations, and Perry's handling of them, were such that 2 weeks before the runoff the Times-Picayune, which earlier had endorsed Perry, withdrew its endorsement.
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, representing Louisiana House District 93
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
. She was elected on 2010 May 29. She entered office on 2010 June 8. Moreno was assigned by Speaker Jim Tucker (R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Terrytown
Terrytown, Louisiana
Terrytown is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. It is a suburb within the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 25,430 at the 2000 census...
) to the House committees on Administration of Criminal Justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
and on Commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
; she joined the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
, the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus, and the Orleans Delegation
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
A former television newscaster, Moreno was an unsuccessful candidate for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans , and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.The district is currently represented...
seat in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 2008. She is a media communication consultant based in New Orleans, Louisiana, affiliated with James Hartman & Associates, a multi-service political and marketing consulting firm.
Background
Helena Moreno was born in the seaside city of VeracruzVeracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
, Veracruz State
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, as the daughter of Felix and Nancy Pearson Moreno. With her parents Helena Moreno moved to Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, where she became a 1995 graduate of Episcopal High School
Episcopal High School (Bellaire, Texas)
Episcopal High School is a co-educational private day school in Bellaire, Texas, United States. The high school is located on a campus in the city, which is partially surrounded by the city of Houston....
. Moreno is a 1999 graduate in mass communication
Mass communication
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...
from Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
(SMU) in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, where she wrote for the Daily Campus; she also studied at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
in the District of Columbia while working in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
for First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
. A native speaker of both English and Spanish, Moreno studied for 6 months in Madrid, Spain. As of 2010 she has never married.
Television news
Prior to graduation from SMU Moreno served in internships with KTRK-TVKTRK-TV
KTRK-TV, channel 13, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Houston, Texas...
and KHOU-TV
KHOU-TV
KHOU is the CBS affiliate television station in Houston, Texas. Serving Greater Houston, it is owned by the Belo Corporation and broadcasts on digital and PSIP channel 11...
in Houston. After graduation, she went to WTOC-TV
WTOC-TV
WTOC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Southeastern Georgia's Coastal Empire and Southern South Carolina's Lowcountry. Licensed to Savannah, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter along Fort Argyle Road/SR 204 in unincorporated...
in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, whence she was recruited by Hearst-Argyle
Hearst-Argyle
Hearst Television, Inc. is a broadcasting company in the United States, owned by the New York City-based Hearst Corporation. It holds joint ventures in television production with NBC Universal Television Distribution...
Broadcasting Corporation for WDSU-TV in New Orleans. At WDSU Moreno soon became anchor for the morning news. Her reporting during Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
brought her numerous accolades, including a citation as Broadcaster of the Year from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers
American Federation of Teachers
The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...
, an affiliate of the (AFL-CIO).
Elections
In March 2008 Helena Moreno resigned from WDSU to challenge then-incumbent United States Representative William J. JeffersonWilliam J. Jefferson
William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...
in Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans , and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.The district is currently represented...
Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. Her campaign was insistent on obtaining "the answers we deserve" concerning inadequate efforts to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. She received sufficient votes to force the incumbent into a runoff election
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
, which Jefferson won.
Jefferson was subsequently defeated, in the general election, by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Joseph Cao
Joseph Cao
Anh "Joseph" Quang Cao is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. In April 2011, he announced he will be a candidate for Attorney General of Louisiana in 2011, however in September 2011 he pulled out of the race.He was the first...
, who had Moreno's endorsement as well as that of other Democrats such as City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
women Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson and Stacy Head
Stacy Head
Stacy Aline Singleton Head is a member of the New Orleans City Council.-Early Life and Career:Stacy Head was born in 1969 as the daughter of Katherine Hamberlin Singleton and Ernest Lynn Singleton. She grew up in Greensburg, Saint Helena Parish, Louisiana...
. As of 2009, Moreno continued active in New Orleans civic circles. In 2009, she worked for EGF Partners (the Moreno family's oil firm) and for James Hartman & Associates in Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
, before joining the New Orleans mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
al campaign of John Georges
John Georges
John Georges is a New Orleans, Louisiana, businessman who formerly served on the Louisiana Board of Regents, the body which supervises higher education in his native state....
.
In 2010, after the election of Karen Carter Peterson
Karen Carter Peterson
Karen Carter Peterson is a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, representing the 5th District since 2010. She previously served as the representative from District 93 , in the Louisiana House of Representatives and as Speaker Pro Tempore...
to the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Senate
The Louisiana State Senate is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All Senators serve four year terms and are assigned multiple committees to work on. The Republicans control the State Senate following a Special Election Victory in District 26 by Jonathan W. Perry...
, Moreno became a candidate for Peterson's vacated District 93 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
. The special election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
occurred on 2010 May 1, with Moreno obtaining 27 percent of the vote and entering a runoff election with James Perry
James Perry
James Perry may refer to:* James Perry , journalist* James Franklin Perry, , early Texas settler, husband of Emily Austin Perry* James E.C. Perry , jurist* James Stewart Perry , sculptor* James L...
, who had 38 percent. Much of the runoff campaign, which Moreno won, involved personal issues of allegations of traffic violations. The allegations, and Perry's handling of them, were such that 2 weeks before the runoff the Times-Picayune, which earlier had endorsed Perry, withdrew its endorsement.
Internal links
- Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson
- Anh "Joseph" Cao
- Stacy HeadStacy HeadStacy Aline Singleton Head is a member of the New Orleans City Council.-Early Life and Career:Stacy Head was born in 1969 as the daughter of Katherine Hamberlin Singleton and Ernest Lynn Singleton. She grew up in Greensburg, Saint Helena Parish, Louisiana...
- William J. Jefferson
- Rosalind Peychaud