The legacy of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin will be forever intertwined with the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Though it was a disaster of immense proportions and consequences, Nagin, 54, received a great deal of criticism on how he handled the evacuation process to his proclamations that the city would be “chocolate†again.
His second term in office was beset with accusations that Nagin’s plans to rebuild New Orleans were unclear and taking too long to come into fruition. Nagin left office in May with low approval ratings and charges that he left behind a government in dismay and a brand new and crumbling Roots of Music Cultural Sculpture Garden, that some believe is symptomatic of his tenure.
But time will tell a different story, says Nagin, who has said more than once that when people look back they’ll realize that under the most unimaginable circumstances, he did more right than wrong. What’s next for the former mayor, well, according to him, he’s still figuring it out.
BlackEnterprise.com: As we approach the anniversary of Katrina, how would you describe the state of New Orleans five years later?
Former Mayor Ray Nagin: I would describe her as moving toward full recovery and I point to a couple of indicators for that. About 82% to 85% of our population is back, we recently were noted as having the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
How do you think you handled the aftermath and the rebuilding of New Orleans?
I think I did the best I could with the resources and the processes and the conflicts that were on the table at the time. I had a Republican president and a Democratic governor who weren’t seeing eye to eye and I was the guy who was closest to the action, so I took more of my share of heat.
Do you have any regrets about how you handled anything?
Absolutely. I don’t think anybody in [that] situation could have been perfect. So there are many things that I could have done better–from the evacuations to managing public relations to dealing with government officials to even dealing with the media. I was under attack from so many different fronts that I think I got too combative at times. I wish I hadn’t done that.
Compare and contrast the city’s economic condition when you first took office, after Katrina and when you left it.
Pre-Katrina we inherited some pretty significant budget deficits, we were losing jobs, the economy was really struggling. Right before Katrina we had three years in a row where we’d had record number of tourists coming into town, the economy was stabilized, we had job growth, and
things were moving in the right direction. In a post-Katrina world, while the rest of the country is struggling mightily with the economy, our economy’s doing pretty decent, and is primarily being driven by construction-related activity.What needs to happen for New Orleans to have a successful urban renewal?
I think it’s in place. When you look underneath the surface of some of the things that they’re complaining about and you look at the fundamentals of this economy, you look at the fact that we’re building a 70-acre medical complex with $2 billion hospitals that are under construction, and you look at the riverfront development, you look at a lot of the transformative projects–even the public housing developments have been totally transformed in New Orleans–when you get underneath all of that there is significant opportunity that has existed and will continue to exist for urban Americans to participate in this economy and this boom, which I predict is going to last another five to seven years.
Are African Americans playing a significant role in the recovery in New Orleans or are they being left out?
Well, I think it depends upon who you talk to. I had big controversy in some of the things that I’ve done to make sure African Americans were included before Katrina and particularly after Katrina. I didn’t buy into this notion that you have to do 35% disadvantaged business enterprise contracts because I know if you’re not at least an equal partner in a business venture, then you’re on the short end of the stick. I pushed hard for 50-50 joint ventures or for African Americans to be prime contractors. For the most part you have two African Americans that provide all of the clean up garbage, semi-automated garbage services throughout New Orleans and they’re long-term contracts. Those contracts have been attacked by the elite of this city consistently, but they’re still in place.
How has the oil spill complicated rebuilding efforts and impacted small business in New Orleans?
I don’t think it has hit New Orleans significantly yet. If anything, it’s hitting our restaurants, and the industries of small businesses that were directly involved in the fishing industry. Most of those businesses are in other parishes or counties. We had a local oyster processing plant that closed down, but there are very few small businesses that have been forced to shut down as a result of the oil spill–yet.
You were term-limited out of office. Your tenure as mayor ended with low approval ratings. Voters are unhappy with the city’s lack of progress and high crime rates.
Polls have never really captured my approval ratings very accurately. When I first ran, I was at 3% two weeks before I ran first in the primary. This last time I ran for re-election, everybody was predicting that I wouldn’t make the run-off or I’d be beaten in a landslide and I ended up winning. So, polls are a snapshot in time and I think over time people will come to appreciate more and more the things that I’ve done.
The Landrieu administration recently said that the government you left behind was dysfunctional and disorganized, with lax policies and recordkeeping. How do you respond to that?
Every administration comes in with a certain bravado and this one is no exception. We had to document just about every and anything in order to make sure that the recovery dollars flowed, so I’m sure if they dig deep enough they’ll be able to find it.
Katrina aside, what do you think your legacy will be? How will you be remembered?
Oh, it’s all about Katrina. I think when people think of me they’re going to think about my interactions with the federal government during Katrina, radio outbursts, and the fact that I was very controversial. And I think when all of the dust settles, they’re going to see me as the person that made a lot of tough decisions and made more right decisions than wrong ones.