Ray Nagin

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Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, LA
Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, LA

Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is Mayor of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was elected in May 2002, succeeding Marc Morial. Nagin gained international prominence in 2005 as the mayor of New Orleans during and immediately following Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city.

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Biography

Before his election, Nagin was a member of the Republican Party and had little political experience; he was a vice president and general manager at Cox Communications, a cable communications company and subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Nagin did give contributions periodically to candidates of both parties, including President George W. Bush and former Republican U.S. Representative Billy Tauzin in 1999 and 2000, as well as to Democratic U.S. Senators John Breaux and J. Bennett Johnston earlier in the decade.

Days before filing for the New Orleans Mayoral race in February 2002, Nagin switched his party registration to the Democratic Party. Shortly before the primary election, an endorsement praising Nagin as a reformer by Gambit Magazine gave him crucial momentum that would carry through for the primary election and runoff. In the first round of the crowded mayoral election in February 2002, Nagin received first place with 29% of the vote, against such opponents as Police Chief Richard Pennington, State Senator Paulette Irons, City Councilman Troy Carter and others. In the runoff with Pennington in May 2002, Nagin won with 59% of the vote. His campaign was largely self-financed. Nagin received a majority of both black and white voters, a first in New Orleans history.

Shortly after taking office, Nagin launched an anti-corruption campaign within city government, which included crackdowns on the city's Taxicab Bureau and Utilities Department. Nagin also made a controversial endorsement of current Republican U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal in the 2003 Louisiana Gubernatorial Runoff over current Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco, and only reluctantly endorsed U.S. Senator John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential race.

Nagin received a B.S. degree in accounting from Tuskegee University in 1978 and an M.B.A. degree from Tulane University in 1994. He and his wife, Seletha Smith Nagin, have three children: Jeremy, Jarin, and Tianna.

Hurricane Katrina

President George W. Bush and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin September 2, 2005.
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President George W. Bush and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin September 2, 2005.

On August 26, 2005, the National Hurricane Center predicted for the first time that Hurricane Katrina would become a Category 4 storm, and thus exceed the design limits of the New Orleans levees [1]. That same day, Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency [2].

Mayor Nagin issued a voluntary evacuation request late in the day on August 27. He was hesitant to order a mandatory evacuation because of concerns about the city's liability for closing hotels and other businesses. [3]

On August 28, Katrina became a Category 4 hurricane [4], and Nagin declared a mandatory evacuation, opening the Superdome as a shelter of last resort to those who couldn't leave. State governor-controlled National Guard troops were stationed inside the Superdome to screen refugees for weapons and feed the citizens gathered there [5],[6] yet the situation within the Superdome became very difficult for evacuees.[7]

Katrina shifted eastward approximately 15 miles from its expected landfall point, which was to be a direct hit on the city of New Orleans, only a couple of hours prior to making landfall, minimizing the anticipated wind damage to the city. Several levees and flood walls were breached and undercut in the first few hours after landfall, and within 24 hours up to 80% of the city was flooded. An estimated 90,000 were still in the city when the hurricane made landfall on August 29, causing severe damage to most of New Orleans.

Criticism of relief efforts

On September 1, 2005, Nagin held a high-profile interview on the relief situation with Garland Robinette, on radio station WWL in which he bluntly critized the delays in aid to the city. Stating "I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city", he compared the slow reaction to Hurricane Katrina to the national reaction to 9/11 and the war in Iraq.

On September 4, President Bush responded to Nagin's criticism by focusing on the failings of state and local authorities, stating that the disaster's magnitude "created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable." [8].

Criticism of Nagin

Some newspaper editorial writers have criticized Nagin for not handling evacuation procedures properly and, in particular, for allowing hundreds of New Orleans' buses — which were planned to be used for evacuating poor or elderly people — to sit idle in parking lots that eventually flooded. [9] In the September 1 interview he said driving school buses had been proposed, and that he wanted every Greyhound bus line moving to New Orleans. On a September 11 appearance on Meet the Press, Nagin said the buses sat unused because there was no one to drive them. [10]

At a town hall meeting in October 2005, Nagin said: "I can see in your eyes, you want to know, 'How do I take advantage of this incredible opportunity? How do I make sure New Orleans is not overrun with Mexican workers?'" [11] [12], referring to the influx of labor — many of whom are undocumented — coming to New Orleans to help rebuild the city. Hispanic groups, including the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, criticized Nagin's statement as prejudiced [13], but those attending the town hall meeting reportedly applauded — many in the area believe the jobs should instead go to local workers displaced by the hurricane. [14]

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Preceded by:
Marc Morial
Mayor of New Orleans
2002present
Succeeded by:
incumbent
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