Ray Nagin and the (not just) Chocolate City
Every day at work, Carla and I take turns sending out news to our office. We're supposed to find articles related to entrepreneurship in New Orleans because The Idea Village’s mission is to foster innovation and offer business advice to local entrepreneurs. Anyway, while searching for articles Carla unexpectedly came across one titled “Nagin Dines on Taxpayers’ Dime.”
The title is pretty self-explanatory, but the numbers are quite astonishing: from September ’07 to January ’08, Nagin charged 70 meals to his taxpayer-financed credit carder, totaling $6,628. According to the local newspaper, very little of these meals were accounted for, including meals with only his wife. Furthermore, Nagin and two of his aides together charged $180,000 to their cards in a six-month period, about which only two-thirds of has been accounted for. Where did the other $60,000 go? Not hard to guess given that one of the typical charges on his card was for $2800 at a nightclub.
I'm glad Nagin knows how to party since this town is all about celebrations, but he can hardly justify a $2800 tab at a nightclub as a "business function." Other city officials keep receipts when they charge to their taxpayer-financed credit cards, it's not that difficult, but Nagin has hardly any accountability for his spending and refuses to answer to the press.
Actually, I have to admit that before randomly coming across this article, I wasn’t even sure Ray Nagin was still the mayor here. After his infamous “Chocolate City” quote in the wake of Hurricane Katrina where he suggested that God intends for New Orleans to be predominantly African American, I hadn’t heard much about him. I decided to do a little bit of research.
It turns out that Nagin ran against 23 other candidates in the 2006 mayoral race, barely beating Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, bolstered by 80% of the African American vote. Nagin’s second term has been less controversial since he’s not in the spotlight anymore. Search results have come up with a quote where he calls himself a “vagina-friendly mayor” – that’s just weird – and a humorous yet disturbing picture of him pointing an M-4 Rifle at the police superintendent:
Another article I found hints at racism as well as stuipidity. After Katrina struck, the demographic of New Orleans changed considerably. Partially due to an abundance of contruction job opportunities, New Orleans saw an influx of Mexican workers. Now, most people would see this as a good thing - suddenly there's a shortage of labor and a need for rapid redevelopment, so additional cheap labor is great. However, Nagin's town hall comment was: "How do I make sure New Orleans is not overrun with Mexican workers?" Sounds awfully similar to the Chocolate City quote, just not quite catchy enough to merit t-shirts.
Besides these strange incidents and controversial quotes, New Orleanians have expressed general disappointment with Ray Nagin’s recovery efforts. He puts a lot of blame on government organizations like FEMA for not doing enough, but he doesn’t seem to be doing a whole lot himself. And though he may be vagina-friendly, but he’s certainly not press-friendly, threatening to “coldcock” any reporters that come up unexpectedly.
Mayor Nagin has two years left to improve his reputation. We’re in a post-Katrina state but recovery is slow and FEMA is withdrawing its presence even more. Thousands of people are currently living in the remaining 5,000 FEMA trailers, and they recently issued a 30-day notice that all residents must evacuate their trailers by the first of July unless they file for an extension. This application for an extension includes documentation of ongoing litigation between the owner of the trailer and an insurance company or proof that the owner has applied for a housing grant. Many people do not have time to prepare for this and will be left homeless in a little over a week.
FEMA and HUD are working together on a transition plan to long-term housing, which is great, but chances are some people will be left out and may end up on the streets in the process. My hope is that Mayor Nagin and local agencies will step up and figure out a way to provide temporary housing for these people and the ones living under a bridge that I mentioned in my first blog. $60,000 of taxpayers’ money can go a long way when not wasted on swank parties and expensive meals.
Even if he doesn’t have the resources to help these future evicted New Orleanians in such a short time span, I just hope Nagin will act in a more ethical manner for his last two years. New Orleans has a large African American population, and its culture is heavily influenced by the African American community, but this is by no means a Chocolate City. I've seen more (quite tasty) Vietnamese restaurants in New Orleans alone than I have in all of North Carolina, and there are plenty of other races with significant presence here, too. To be a more effective mayor, Nagin needs to understand two things: 1) his role is to serve as the mayor of a melting pot, not a single demographic, and 2) spending taxpayers' money comes with the duty of spending it in their best interests, not his own. If he can lead with those two pricinples in mind, New Orleans could be in a much better place two years from now.