New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno has signaled for months that she wants to see a new chief executive atop the Regional Transit Authority.
But her efforts to replace RTA CEO Lona Edwards Hankins hit a snag in early April, when she was surprised to learn that Hankins’ employment contract had been quietly amended by a board chair appointed by former Mayor LaToya Cantrell without any public notice or vote of the full board.
That contract amendment — dated Oct. 15, just days after Moreno won the mayoral race — is now at center of an investigation by the RTA’s newly installed board. They’ve hired an outside law firm to review the contract and are awaiting a legal opinion before taking action…