| C. Ray Nagin | |
|---|---|
| 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana | |
| In office May 6, 2002 – May 3, 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Marc Morial |
| Succeeded by | Mitch Landrieu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 11, 1956 New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Seletha Smith Nagin |
| Alma mater | Tuskegee University (BS) Tulane University (M.B.A.) |
| Profession | Corporate Executive, Entrepreneur, Author |
| Religion | Catholic |
Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is a consultant, entrepreneur, author, and public speaker. He served as mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States from 2002 to 2010. Nagin gained international note in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a historic, catastrophic disaster which devastated the New Orleans area.
Nagin was first elected on March 2, 2002 and received significant crossover vote from just about every segment of the population.[1] He was re-elected in 2006 eventhough the election was held with at least two-thirds of New Orleans citizens still displaced after the storm hit. He was term limited by law and left office on May 3, 2010.
After leaving office, Nagin founded CRN Initiatives LLC, a firm that focused on Emergency Preparedness, Green Energy product development, Publishing and Public Speaking. He has written and published his first book, "Katrina Secrets: Storms after the Storms" which gives a first-hand account on how New Orleans overcame unimaginable devastation.
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Nagin was born on June 11, 1956,[2] in New Orleans' Charity Hospital, to a modest-income family.[3] His childhood was typical to that of urban youth within the city,[3] and his father held two jobs: a janitor at New Orleans City Hall by night and a fabric cutter at a clothing factory by day. After the factory shut down his father became a fleet mechanic at a local dairy,[4] to earn sufficient pay to support his family.[5] His mother was employed as manager of a Kmart in-store restaurant.[2] The family lived on Allen Street in the 7th Ward, followed by a stay near St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in the Treme, and then moved to the Cutoff section of Algiers.[4] Nagin attended St. Augustine and O. Perry Walker High Schools where he played basketball and baseball.[2] He enrolled at Tuskegee University on a baseball scholarship, played on championship teams [5] and graduated with a Bacholor of Science degree in Accounting in 1978.[3]
After graduating from college he went to work in the purchasing department at General Motors in Detroit. He moved to Los Angeles, and then to Dallas in 1981 to take Internal Audit Manager and Division Controller jobs with Associates Corp.[4] In 1982, Nagin married Seletha Smith, a New Orleans native.[4] Together, they have three children: Jeremy, Jarin, and Tianna.[2] In 1985, Nagin returned to New Orleans, becoming the controller of Cox New Orleans, the city's cable television franchise,[4] run by media conglomerate Cox. The franchise history was customer complaints, low profits, stagnant growth and was one of the poorest-performing components within Cox. Nagin was quickly promoted to general manager and implemented an upgrade of the system to 750 MHz, spent over $500 million on developing its fiber-optic cable, and introduced new services, including digital cable television and telephony. In 1989, he was appointed to oversee all of Cox properties in south Louisiana as vice-president and general manager of Cox Louisiana. Between 1985 and 2002, 800 jobs were added. By the end of his tenure, 85% of customers reported satisfaction with Cox services, compared to less than half in 1989. Cox Louisiana became one of Cox's best-performing units.
In 1993, Nagin enrolled in the executive MBA program at Tulane University, a national ranked cirriculum.[4] Mark Miester, Editor of Freeman Magazine for the A. B. Freeman School of Business, reported that in his role as vice-president and general manager, Nagin gained valuable experience in politics whilst balancing customer and regulator concerns.[4] Nagin also lobbied at the local, state and federal levels as many of the businesses he managed were regulated and required formal franchise renewals.[2] His public profile was high because he hosted a twice-weekly television call-in show for customers.
In 1995, Nagin received the Young Leadership Council Diversity and Role Model Award, and later sat on the boards of the United Way, Covenant House, Greater New Orleans Education Foundation. He also was one of the founders and president of 100 Black Men of metro New Orleans, an affiliate of the national organization of African-American businessmen. In 1998 he led a group of diverse investors to bring professional ice hockey to New Orleans, the New Orleans Brass.[2] Nagin became the team's president and investors' spokesman as they secured this historic hockey franchise.[4] The initial popularity of the team allowed the group to secure the 18,000 seat New Orleans Arena as its home venue.[4] That year, the local alternative newspaper Gambit Weekly named Nagin as its New Orleanian of the Year.[2]
The February 2002 mayoral race had citizens uninspired by the city's lethargic economy and traditional political candidates entering the race. While discussing this with his teenage sons and friends, Nagin asked them what their plans were after college. To a person they all said they were leaving New Orleans as they did not see enough opportunities. At that point Nagin concluded he needed to get involved in helping the city at a much higher level.
Nagin entered the race for mayor on the final day of qualifying. There were already fourteen other better known candidates that had announced their candidacy. Nagin was at first considered a long shot as he was not backed by any of the city's established political organizations. He hired Jim Carvin, an elder campaign manager who had never lost a mayoral race.
Nagin was a quick study, excelled in debates and started to connect with voters. Many voters favored Nagin's expressions of disgust with traditional Louisiana politics, including promises to fight political corruption and run the city in a more businesslike manner. Shortly before the primary mayoral election, on January 17, 2002, the Times Picayune and Gambit Weekly endorsed Nagin as a reformer. His message of change, economic prosperity and accountability along with these endorsements and others, gave him crucial momentum that would carry through the primary and subsequent runoff.
In the first round of the crowded mayoral election in February 2002, Nagin won first place with 29 percent of the vote. Some of his opponents were the very popular Police Chief Richard Pennington, State Senator Paulette Irons, City Councilman Troy Carter and others. In the runoff on Saturday, March 2, 2002,[1] Nagin won by defeating Richard Pennington with 59% of the votes to become the 60th mayor of New Orleans. [1]
Shortly after taking office, Nagin launched an anti-corruption campaign within city government, including crackdowns on the city's Taxicab Bureau and Utilities Department. Media scenes of corrupt officials being led out of City Hall in handcuffs were received with surprised enthusiasm by much of the public. When an investigation into corruption among city vehicle inspection (locally known as "brake tag" inspection) certification workers suggested that corruption was systemic, Nagin fired the entire department workforce. Nagin's actions were viewed with surprise, given the state's history of preferential political treatment for people with social or family connections. Indeed, when Nagin was asked what should be done about his cousin, who was implicated in the taxi cab bureau scandals, Nagin said "if he's guilty, arrest him." Nagin's cousin was later arrested.[6]
The 2004 Commprehensive Annual Financial Report of the City of New Orleans as certified by CPA firm KPMG highlighted many significant accomplishments of the Nagin administration. New Orleans gains 4,500 jobs that year. U.S. Census Bureau figures showed about 38,000 New Orleanians had risen out of poverty as the national average increased. Targeted policies to stimulate business growth, enhance job skill training and targeted homeownership for single parent households were credited. According to the American City Business Journals, per capita income in New Orleans was rising at the fasted rate in the nation. [7]
Southern Business and Development named New Orleans number eight on the list of "come back kids" in the south. New Orleans had back to back record tourist visits, 10.1 million in 2004. Yahoo/National Geographic Traveler poll named the city its number one family destination. Since 2002, the area had seen over $400 million of film productions, including movies like the Oscar-award winning "Ray" with Jamie Foxx and "All the King's Men", featuring Sean Penn. According to Moviemaker Magazine, New Orleans was the 4th best place to film a movie and had earned the title "Hollywood South". [8]
In November 2004, the Nagin administration passed the city's largest bond issue, $260 million. New Orleans also implemented unprecedented technology and jumped from 69th to 38th on Intel's list of "Most Wired Cities". The city's website went from being unranked to the 4th best in the nation. [9]
As Hurricane Ivan threatened the Gulf of Mexico in September 2004, Nagin urged New Orleanians to be ready for the storm. In an effort to get the public's attention and bust through media clutter he advised evacuees to have some "Benjamins" ($100 bills) handy and urged those planning to stay not only to stock up on food and water but also to make sure they had "an axe in the attic,". This was a clever reference to the many people trapped in their attics by rising floodwaters when Hurricane Betsy hit the city in 1965. Nagin issued a voluntary evacuation call at 6 p.m. on September 13 and the interstates quickly filled as some 600,000 metro New Orleanians left. Traffic was so heavy that some trips took 12 hours or more. Fortunately, the hurricane missed the city like many others.
Although a life-long democrat, Nagin controversially endorsed conservative Republican Bobby Jindal over conservative Democratic Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco in the 2003 runoff for governor. Both candidates platforms were almost identical so Nagin requested each write a letter detailing what they would do for the citizens of New Orleans if elected. Jindal wrote a very detailed plan while Blanco sent a one page, two paragraph letter.
In August 2005, one of the most deceptive storms ever, entered the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina crossed over Florida as a tropical storm and then a weak category one hurricane. The initial projection was for it to go north and dissipate in the eastern section of the country. The next day, Hurricane Katrina changed dramatically and Alabama was in her sights. Then Mississipi was the target.
As the storm entered the warm Gulf waters, police, fire, EMS and Sewerage & Water Board personnel in New Orleans began to initiate their hurricane preparation plan. By Friday, August 26, 2005 Nagin advised New Orleanians to keep a close eye on the storm and prepare for evacuation. Nagin then made several public statements strongly encouraging citizens to leave. By 10 a.m. Saturday, a mandatory evacuation was called for low-lying areas in the surrounding parishes—St. Charles, St. Tammany, Plaquemines, and Jefferson—and a voluntary evacuation for St. Bernard Parish. In addition to the parishes’ announcements, George W. Bush declared a federal state of emergency for Louisiana.
In accordance with the regional evacuation plan, New Orleans along with surrounding areas of Jefferson and St. Charles parishes were given formal voluntary evacuation orders around fifty hours from landfall. This phased approach along with "contra-flow" where all incoming interstate highway lanes are reversed outward ensured that additional cars moving into already congested roads would not create massive gridlock on the interstate highway system. [10].
Late Saturday night around 9 pm, Mayor Nagin received an urgent call from Mr. Max Mayfield, head of the National Hurricane Center. Mr. Mayfield advised there was finally clarity on where Katrina was headed, to New Orleans. He went on to say that this was the worst storm he had seen in 30 years. Nagin immediately ordered the city attorney to prepare the legal documents for calling a mandatory evacuation of the cit,the first in New Orleans almost 300 year history. The legal team worked through the night and on Sunday, the 28th of August at 9.30 am, the mandatory evacuation was signed and officially called. Nagin went on radio and TV to directly order citizens to leave. The Superdome was opened as a refuge of last resort and police went throughout the city with loudspeakers alerting all remaining citizens to go to key pickup points for free bus rides. By Sunday evening, 95% of New Orleanians and visitors were successfully evacuated or relocated out of harm's way.
After the hurricane hit, the federally built and maintained levees collapsed throughout the city. 80% of the city flooded, some areas as high as 20 feet, over rooftops. New Orleans was cut off from all escaped routes with only enough food and water for 3 days. Urgent rescues ensued with limited city resources and coast guard pilots and helicopters. The Superdome filled to capacity and the Convention Center was commandeered. Unprecedented challenges escalated as the city's core infrastructure which included electricity, water, sewer, drainage, schools, jails and hospitals were virtually destroyed.
FEMA delivered only 10% of the food and water the city pre-ordered. Looting for survival soon became uncontrollable. All communications was out and conditions severly deteriorated at the Superdome and Convention Center resulting in more suffered and deaths. Nagin stayed in the city throughout this crisis. After repeatedly hearing false reports on his wind up radio, Nagin blasted the slow federal and state response on WWL radio and his passionate outburst went viral all over the world. As public pressure swelled, federal and state officials were forced to act. After seven full days, the last stranded citizen was evacuated from the city. Most were dispersed among 44 different states and were initially called "refugees", in their own country. [11]
Over 1,800 died throughout the Gulf coast during this historic, catastrophic event. The city was drained in 21 days, one fourth the time estimated by the U.S. Corp of Engineers. A massive clean up followed. Nagin ordered a phased repopulation, beginning in the areas least damageed with 2 feet of water or less. With an economy shut down, the city barely avoided bankruptcy as Nagin laid off half the city's workforce, over 3,000 employees. Miraculously, the city stabilized and moved into the recovery phase. [12].
Shortly after Katrina devastated New Orleans, some in the city started making bold public demands for socially reengineering New Orleans during its recovery. Some saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to permanently displace many citizens, particularly poor, African Americans. [13] Two weeks after Katrina hit, Nagin took a weekend trip to Dallas to reunite with his family. While there he was asked to a meeting with leading New Orleans businessmen to discuss the future of New Orleans. In spite of recent contrary public statements by a few of those businessmen, Nagin made it clear at the meeting that everyone had a right to return home.
He went on to assert he was planning to rebuild a bigger and better New Orleans where diversity, equity and fairness ruled. To get that message to New Orleans many displaced residents, Nagin traveled the country, presiding over 170 town hall style meetings to inform them of what was going on with the city's recovery. [14].
At a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration speech in New Orleans on January 16, 2006, Nagin used "Chocolate City" to signal that New Orleans would once again be as diverse a city as it was before Katrina. He also forcefully addressed black on black crime relative to recent shootings during a second line parade. [15] Nagin repeated the "Chocolate City" metaphor and proclaimed that New Orleans would be "chocolate again." This was seized upon and parodied by some commentators, cartoons, and merchandising. Various designs of T-shirts with satirical depictions of Nagin as Willy Wonka were sold in the city and on the Internet.[16][17]
Nagin also stated that New Orleans "will be a majority African-American city because this was what God wants it to be."[18] Certain people found the implication of Nagin claiming to know God's as troubling as the suggested return of pre-Katrina demographics.[19] He then condemned Washington DC by saying God "sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country", suggesting God's disapproval of US invasion of Iraq under false pretenses.[20]
The speech generated an intense reaction, most of it negative.[17] Some incorrectly predicted that Nagin ruined his chances at re-election with this speech. Nagin later apologized to those who may have been offended by his remarks. He went on to say he regretted mentioning God in that setting and painting a picture that all uptown (a predominately white neighborhood) residents were against everyone's right to return home. [21]
In an interview with Public Radio International's Tavis Smiley broadcast on January 13, 2006, Nagin said he used the phrase "chocolate city" in reference to a time in the 1970's when African Americans were just started to exercise political power in places like Washington, DC. That term was not anti anyone and had been used in many of Nagin's previous speeches and welcomes to visitors of the city. The idea reportedly originated with the song "Chocolate City" by the popular 1970s funk group Parliament.[22] [23]
The 2006 mayoral race was one of the most expensive in New Orleans history. [24] At the time of this election, at least two-thirds of its residents were still displaced. One candidate said in his Times Picayune interview he was running because the city's demographics had dramatically changed. There were three unsuccessful lawsuits filed to prevent delaying the original election date. [25]
The state performed a voter purge and set up a complicated voting process that required most displaced voters to travel back home. In addition, elaborate absentee voting procedures were required to included multiple mailings, notarizing documents and extensive verifications. An April 1st protest march in the city called for satellite voting to give displaced voters the same rights as those who had returned. [26]
In the April 22nd election, Nagin was the front runner with 38% of the vote. Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu came in second with 29%. Nagin and Landrieu faced each other in a run-off election on May 20, 2006. Nagin defeated Landrieu 52% to 48%. [27]
Nagin's second term began on June 1, 2006. He was intensely criticized by the local media throughout this term. For example, his "100 day plan" to accelerate the rebuilding of New Orleans was bashed for what critics said was a tardy release, lack of details and activity in moving forward. [28] Nagin administration spokesperson Rob Couhig backed away from a 100 day promise, stating that it was not meant as a "time period," but as a short-range initiative to improve quality-of-life issues. Delays in FEMA reimbursements and federal recovery dollars caused significantly delays. [29]
Unprecedented challenges included all public transportation needed to be restarted, stoplights and street signs were destroyed, the city’s world famous street cars were in total disrepair, bankruptcy was a real threat, bonds were downgraded to junk status, half the city’s workforce was laid off, millions of tons of storm debris and construction trash had to be removed, construction cost tripled and an historic numbers of building permits needed to be issued. [30]
Nagin reorganized city government, launched an innovative internet based Kiosk system to issue permits, successfully lobbied to increase the federal community disaster loan from a $5 million limit to 50% of revenues, stabilized real estate and tourism markets, restored the city’s bond rating to investment grade, initiated Disney like & semi-automated garbage collections in 2007 and pushed uprecedented public housing transformation. [31]
In 2006, Nagin was also criticized for devoting time to extensive lobbying in Washington, DC and a national speaking tour. [32] Nagin's administration countered this criticism by stating this was necessary in order to correct inaccurate perceptions of New Orleans and secure much needed recovery support.
In addition during 2007, a drastic increase in the city’s violent crime rate led to more criticisms of Nagin’s leadership. A destroyed criminal justice system and severely depleted police force were keys contributors to this rise in activity. Nagin called for and got help from the Louisiana National Guard and U.S. Justice Department. However, Nagin continued to be heavily criticized by the local newspaper.[33] He reignited complaints when he said news of two killings should keep focus on the city's needs for more help and, “while sad, keeps the New Orleans brand out there." [34]
Nagin hired recovery expert Dr.Ed Blakely in 2007 to head up a dedicated Office of Recovery Management. Rockefeller, Ford and Bill & Melinds Gates foundations provided grants for critical staff enhancements. During the end of 2007 and into 2008 Nagin guided the city through an extensive planning process that documented a $14 billion need. However, the state only allocated 2% of the plan and it took almost 3 years to receive any of these federal recovery dollars. [35]
With such limited resources, the city came up with the "Citywide Strategic Recovery & redevelopment Plan" or target area strategy to focus public and private recovery investments. There were 17 initial target areas with commercial center and clustered residential redevelopment. This strategy proved to be effective as for every $1 of public sector investment was followed by $188 in public sector investement. [36]
The average recovery from a disaster like Hurricane Katrina normally takes 10 to 15 years. Kobe, Japan took 15 years, Watts took 10 years and New York is still recovery from the 911 terrorist attacks after 10 years. By years 4 and 5, New Orleans made significant progress toward full recovery. 85% of all city managed recovery projects were either recently completed, under construction or in final design. By the end of 2009, there were over $20 billion in public & private sector construction related projects underway. [37]
As a result, national groups took notice. Business Week said New Orleans was one of the best cities in America to ride out the great recession. [38] Money Magazine ranked the city as the sixth fastest growing real estate market. [39] Outside Magazine said New Orleans was the 20th best town in American to live in. [40] The U.S. Department of Labor in its April 2010 report said New Orleans had the lowest unemployment in the nation. [41]
Prior to leaving office in 2010, Nagin was appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to head the United States delegation to a state and local governments conference on assistance to post-earthquake Haiti held in Martinique. A recovery plan was completed and presented to donor nations resulting in Haita receiving billions in pledges. [42]
Now as a consultant, public speaker and recovery expert, Nagin travels the country and world to give advice to governments, universities and the private sector on emergency preparedness. ”I think New Orleans is a key study of a horrific catastrophe and how we struggled to plan and implement to get the city back to recovery,” he said. ”I will tell you that there are lessons for Australia in trying to recover and authorities could well look at us. One of the key things is to engage the citizens in a big way. They must be involved so they own the recovery.” [43]
In 2004, Ray Nagin's two sons started a family business, Stone Age, LLC, with their parent's financial backing. Stone Age, LLC, received a contract with Home Depot after Hurricane Katrina. The contract was not unusual and was awarded no different than how Home Deport deals with any other company by reviewing capacity, financial stability and background checks. Stone Age, LLC, is a granite and marble business that focused primarily on the residential market. When Stone Age registered as a home-improvement business with the state Licensing Board for Contractors the application showed that Seletha Nagin, Nagin's wife, signed as a witness, and the document was notarized by Attorney Penya Moses-Fields. There was no evidence that Nagin's stake in Stone Age ever exceeded 25% and therefore, there was no violation of state ethics laws. [44] Stone Age, LLC, is currently "Not In Good Standing for failure to file Annual Report" with the Louisiana Secretary of State as the company is currently inactive but eligible for reinstatement.[45]
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". This was in response to a question from the audience referring to the influx of Mexican laborers coming to New Orleans to help rebuild the city. [46] Some Hispanic groups, including the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, criticized Nagin's statement,[47] although those attending the town hall meeting reportedly applauded — many believed jobs should first go to locals displaced by the hurricane. Nagin went on to say this was the city's biggest economic opportunity in a lifetime. He also urged New Orleanians to get more comfortable working besides someone who did not look like them, as they needed everyone's help to recover from this disaster. During a later interview on Telemundo with Jose Dias Balant, Nagin praised the great job that hispanic workers did in New Orleans and said the city would not have recovered without them. [48]
On April 7, 2009, the Times-Picayune alleged a conflict of interest with regard to a trip Nagin took to Hawaii in 2004. The Hawaiian vacation Mayor Ray Nagin, then-chief technology officer Greg Meffert and their families took in 2004 was claimed to be partially paid for by Meffert but years later it was revealed that a contractor paid for Nagin's plane ticket.[49] David Hammer of the Times-Picayune incorrectly reported on April 23, 2009, that Nagin had taken "plenty of other trips" at the expense of NetMethods, a company owned by city vendor Mark St. Pierre.[50] In a subsequent (June 7) article Hammer described potential technicalities wherein the benefits received by Meffert may be legal depending on whether he received them inside or outside New Orleans and whether the source was NetMethods or merely someone associated with the company.[51]
In April 2009, Nagin was obliged "to sit for a deposition as part of a civil lawsuit over the city's controversial crime camera program."[52] Times-Picayune had obtained information that Mark St. Pierre, who allegedly paid for the holiday, had made substantial donations to Nagin's 2006 re-election campaign. The subsequent civil trail revealed that Nagin has nothing to do with any wrong doings.
Nagin's Chief Technology Officier, Greg Meffert, has been charged with 63 felony counts in what authorities say "was a lucrative kickback scheme."[53] All but two of the counts were subsequently dropped.
Nagin's largest payment from his campaign contributions in 2009 was written to a Ciber Inc, which has ties to his Office of Technology. The description for the expense was a "reimbursement for fund-raiser." [54] The reimbursement of Ciber's expenses were required by state law as this technically was an in-kind contributions that exceeded the maximum contribution for that election cycle.
<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named The_Nation; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Marc Morial |
Mayor of New Orleans May 6, 2002 – May 3, 2010 |
Succeeded by Mitch Landrieu |
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