Mayor ray nagin biography

1956–

Mayor, media executive

Politics in New Orleans have long been as murky as the bayou waters that circle the Southern city. Backroom deals, bribery, and corruption have caused many political commentators to change the city's nickname from the Big Easy to the Big Sleazy. Whether the accusations were true or not, the rumors were enough to stifle the city and by 2002 New Orleans was sinking under massive debt and rampant crime. Businesses were reluctant to build in the city and young people were making mass exoduses in search of better places to work and raise families. Into this grim picture entered C. Ray Nagin, a New Orleans cable executive and visionary. With no political experience and little campaign money, Nagin came out of nowhere to win the 2002 mayoral election on a platform of anti-corruption and economic development. Leaving behind a well-paid executive position to take on the challenges of revitalizing the city that care truly had forgotten, Nagin said during his inaugural speech, "The winds of change are blowing, and they are fanning the flames of a renaissance in our great city," according to Jet. New Orleanians hoped he was right. Just when Nagin's popularity was soaring and his aggressive attack on the city's corruption was showing signs of success, Hurri-cane Katrina brought in winds of change that devastated the city. Winning re-election in 2006, Nagin set out to restart New Orleans' renaissance from the ground up.

Gained Responsibility Early

Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr., was born on June 11, 1956, in New Orleans's Charity Hospital and raised in the scruffy neighborhoods of 7th Ward, Treme, and Algiers. To support Nagin and his two sisters, Nagin's mother ran a K-Mart lunch counter and his father held down several jobs: cutting fabric at a clothing factory during the day, cleaning up at City Hall at night, and working as a mechanic in between.

At O. Perry Walker High School, Nagin excelled in sports and scored a baseball

Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. (English pronunciation: /ˈneɪgɨn/) (born June 11, 1956) was the mayor of New Orleans. He was first elected on March 2, 2002, to succeed his fellow Democrat, Marc Morial. Nagin gained international attention in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area.

In 2014, 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 Hurricane Katrina and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison.

References

Other websites

• BBC NEWS | Americas |Profile: Ray Nagin, BBC News
• Nagin calls for rebuilding 'chocolate' New Orleans, CNN 1/17/2006
• The City of New OrleansArchived 2005-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Campaign contributions made by Ray NaginArchived 2005-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Louisiana Emergency Operations PlanArchived 2005-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses', CNN transcript and the audioArchived 2005-09-05 at the Wayback Machine of WWL-AM

Mayor of New Orleans

Born Clarence Ray Nagin Jr., June 11, 1956, in New Orleans, LA; married Seletha Smith, 1982; children: Jeremy, Jarin (son), Tianna. Education: Tuskegee Institute, B.S., 1978; Tulane University, M.B.A., 1994.

Addresses:Office—New Orleans City Hall, 1300 Perdido St., New Orleans, LA 70112. Website—http://www.cityofno.com. Website—http://www.reelectmayornagin.com.

Career

Worked for General Motors, Detroit, MI, late 1970s; joined Associates Corp., Dallas, TX, 1981; became controller of Cox New Orleans, 1985; became vice-president and general manager for Cox Communications in southeast Louisiana, 1989; elected mayor of New Orleans, 2002; re-elected, 2006.

Awards: Diversity and Role Model Award, Young Leadership Council, 1995.

Sidelights

Ray Nagin will forever be known as the man who was the mayor of New Orleans on the day when Hurricane Katrina flooded and nearly destroyed the city. Born and raised in New Orleans, Nagin became successful in business, then entered politics by running for mayor in 2002, hoping to transform his hometown's often-corrupt government and frail, outdated economy. Because of Katrina, Nagin became known worldwide, and opinions of him ranged as wildly as the surprising comments Nagin often makes. Is he a courageous leader who stayed with his deluged city and sounded the alarm when federal and state officials did not bring relief quickly enough in the tragic days after the hurricane? Or does he deserve at least as much criticism as federal officials do, for not planning better for an emergency evacuation?

The future mayor was born at Charity Hospital in New Orleans to a father who worked as a janitor at New Orleans City Hall by night and a clothing factory by day. His mother managed a lunch counter at a Kmart store. Nagin went to O. Perry Walker High School in the city. He was a good athlete, both in basketball and baseball. He attended the historically black Tuskegee Institute in Alabama on

American politician and businessman

Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Nagin was first elected as mayor in March 2002. He was re-elected in 2006 when the election was held with at least two-thirds of New Orleans citizens still displaced after Katrina struck. Term-limited by law, he left office on May 3, 2010.

After leaving office, Nagin founded CRN Initiatives LLC, a firm that focuses on emergency preparedness, green energy product development, publishing, and public speaking. He wrote and self-published Katrina Secrets: Storms after the Storms.

In 2014, 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.

Early life and career

Nagin was born on June 11, 1956, in New Orleans' Charity Hospital, to a family of modest means. His 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. After the factory shut down, his father became a fleet mechanic at a local dairy to earn sufficient pay to support his family. His mother was employed as manager of a Kmart in-store restaurant.

The family lived on Allen Street in the 7th Ward, followed by a stay near their family parish, St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Tremé, and then a move to the Cutoff section of Algiers. Nagin attended St. Augustine High School and O. Perry Walker High School, where he played basketball and baseball. He enrolled at