1. Ray Nagin was re-elected in 2006 when the election was held with at least two-thirds of New Orleans citizens still displaced after Katrina struck.
47 Facts About Ray Nagin
1. 2.
Ray Nagin wrote and self-published Katrina Secrets: Storms after the Storms.
3.
In 2014, Ray Nagin was convicted on twenty of twenty-one charges of wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering related to bribes from city contractors before and after Katrina and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison.
4.
Ray Nagin was born on June 11,1956, in New Orleans' Charity Hospital, to a family of modest means.
5.
Ray Nagin's childhood was typical of that of urban youth, 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.
6.
Ray Nagin's mother was employed as manager of a Kmart in-store restaurant.
7.
Ray Nagin enrolled at historically black Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, on a baseball scholarship, played on championship teams, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1978.
8.
Ray Nagin moved to Los Angeles, California, then to Dallas, Texas in 1981 to take Internal Audit Manager and Division Controller jobs with Associates Corporation.
9.
In 1982, Ray Nagin married Seletha Smith, a New Orleans native.
10.
In 1985, Ray Nagin returned to New Orleans to become the controller of Cox New Orleans, the city's cable television franchise, run by the Cox media conglomerate.
11.
In 1993, Ray Nagin enrolled in the executive MBA program at Tulane University.
12.
Ray Nagin lobbied at the local, State, and Federal government levels, as many of the businesses he managed were regulated and required formal franchise renewals.
13.
In 1995, Ray Nagin received the Young Leadership Council Diversity and Role Model Award and later sat on the boards of the United Way and Covenant House.
14.
Ray Nagin was one of the founders and president of 100 Black Men of metro New Orleans, an affiliate of the national organization of black businessmen.
15.
Ray Nagin was a partner in a group that brought the New Orleans Brass to the city.
16.
Ray Nagin became the team's president and investors' spokesman as they secured the hockey franchise.
17.
Several news sources, including BBC News, have stated that Nagin was a registered Republican for most of his adult life, and a George W Bush supporter, but then switched to the Democratic Party shortly prior to seeking office in New Orleans.
18.
Ray Nagin endorsed conservative Republican Bobby Jindal over conservative Democratic Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco in the 2003 runoff for governor.
19.
Since 2002, the area had seen over $400 million of film productions, including movies like the Oscar award-winning Ray Nagin, starring Jamie Foxx, and All the King's Men, featuring Sean Penn.
20.
In November 2004, the Ray Nagin administration passed the city's largest bond issue, $260 million.
21.
Ray Nagin advised those planning to stay not only to stock up on food and water, but to make sure they had "an axe in the attic", a reference to the many people trapped in their attics by rising floodwaters when Hurricane Betsy hit the city in 1965.
22.
Ray Nagin then made several public statements encouraging people to leave but promising that if they did not evacuate, "[w]e will take care of you".
23.
Ray Nagin had ignored federal and state offers of help and a recommendation to evacuate the entire city.
24.
The local newspaper reported that Ray Nagin stopped short of ordering a mandatory evacuation because of concerns about the city's liability for closing hotels and other businesses.
25.
Ray Nagin ordered the city attorney to prepare legal documents for a mandatory evacuation of the city, the first in New Orleans' almost 300-year history.
26.
Two weeks after Katrina struck, Ray Nagin took a weekend trip to Dallas to reunite with his family.
27.
Ray Nagin says he made it clear at the meeting that everyone had a right to return home, a claim contradicted by some businessmen in attendance.
28.
Ray Nagin disavowed such proposals, and in response to residents' concerns, he used the phrase "Chocolate City" to signal that New Orleans would remain a majority black city.
29.
Ray Nagin first used the phrase during a Martin Luther King Jr.
30.
Ray Nagin 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 the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
31.
Ray Nagin was intensely criticized by the local media throughout this term.
32.
Ray Nagin was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.
33.
In 2006, Ray Nagin was criticized for devoting time to extensive lobbying in Washington, DC and a national speaking tour.
34.
Ray Nagin's administration said this was necessary in order to correct inaccurate perceptions of New Orleans and secure recovery support.
35.
Ray Nagin called for and got help from the Louisiana National Guard and US Justice Department.
36.
However, Ray Nagin continued to be heavily criticized by the local newspaper.
37.
Ray Nagin hired recovery expert Dr Ed Blakely in 2007 to head up a dedicated Office of Recovery Management.
38.
David Hammer of the Times-Picayune reported on April 23,2009, that Ray Nagin had taken "plenty of other trips" at the expense of NetMethods, a company owned by city vendor Mark St Pierre.
39.
On January 18,2013, Ray Nagin was indicted on 21 corruption charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, and filing false tax returns related to bribes from city contractors.
40.
On February 20,2013, Ray Nagin pleaded not guilty in federal court to all charges.
41.
Ray Nagin was convicted on 20 of the 21 counts by jury on February 12,2014.
42.
On July 9,2014, Ray Nagin was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, and more than $585,000 in restitution and forfeiture.
43.
Berrigan recommended that Ray Nagin be sent to the Federal Correctional Complex, Oakdale.
44.
On July 15,2014, Ray Nagin's attorney filed an appeal with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
45.
Ray Nagin lost another appeal of his case in July 2019.
46.
Ray Nagin said he was near penniless and relying on food stamps.
47.
Ray Nagin reported to the Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana, a prison camp, on September 8,2014.