NEW ORLEANS — Mayor Helena Moreno today hosted “Built to Last,” a Bipartisan Mayors Roundtable focused on Infrastructure, Investment & Innovation at New Orleans’ Gallier Hall.
The roundtable brought together local and national leaders to discuss delivering major projects, responding to disasters and finding opportunities for collaboration across political and geographic lines.
The meeting advances Mayor Moreno’s continued push for regionalism and stronger relationships among local governments. While she has championed collaboration among neighboring parishes, Moreno has also emphasized building connections with communities across the state to share ideas, resources and solutions.
The conversation focused on lessons from rebuilding New Orleans, delivering major national infrastructure projects, and implementing historic infrastructure investments across the country. The roundtables also addressed disaster response, ways to remove barriers to emergency funding, and how to get resources to communities faster. Participating mayors discussed the challenges facing American cities and the importance of bipartisan collaboration in delivering for residents.
“I promised the people of New Orleans that I’d work across parish and across regional lines to build partnerships that serve our City,” said Mayor Moreno. “Together, our economies are stronger, and our shared opportunities are greater if we work together, building the City and state we all want.”
Among the attendees were Former Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, Lafayette Mayor Monique Boulet, Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards, Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux, Addis Mayor David Toups, City of St. George Mayor Dustin Yates, Former Congressman Cedric Richmond, Former Presidential Advisors Martin Matalin and James Carville, and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
Dickens attendance created a fitting connection as New Orleans marks the 20th anniversary of Domecoming, the day the Saints returned to the Superdome to face the Atlanta Falcons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The two cities share one of the NFL’s most recognizable rivalries, but the gathering demonstrated that competition does not have to stand in the way of collaboration.