NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans is about to get a new mayor.
LaToya Cantrell, the first woman to hold the post, takes the oath of office Monday, succeeding term-limited Mitch Landrieu. She won a November runoff election with 60 percent of the vote.
Cantrell, a Democrat, leaves a City Council post she won in 2012. Before that, she was an activist in the Broadmoor neighborhood, among the areas hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Inauguration ceremonies on Monday give her a chance to set the tone for her administration as she faces challenges including an aging drainage system and violent crime.
Meanwhile, she's dealing with an investigation of city finances. Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry's probe began after Cantrell's runoff opponent accused her of misusing her City Council credit card.
– by Kevin McGill, AP reporter
