The next few months will be very painful for the people of New Orleans. It will be quite a spectacle to watch Ray Nagin get ready to exit from office in May. He will not go easily into the night; he will go kicking and screaming about his great “accomplishments.”
In his interview with Essence magazine appropriately titled “Divided He Stands,” Nagin laughably claims that “there was no corruption under my watch.” This is a absurd statement that only someone disconnected from reality like Ray Nagin could make. Let’s see, anyone who has at least casually followed the Nagin administration can recite a litany of corruption: questionable crime camera contracts, Meffert and St. Pierre indictments, vendor financed vacations, NOAH controversy, the case of disappearing e-mails, turmoil in technology and sanitation departments, former CAO jailed, millions in illegal kickbacks by his top 2006 campaign donor and his appointee to the Sewerage and Water Board, and the list goes on.
Nagin rode to office claiming to root out City Hall corruption, but ended up presiding over one of the most corrupt administrations in recent memory. The federal government is currently investigating City Hall in a number of areas such as the NOAH scandal and future indictments may come after Nagin leaves office.
Nagin claims that there is a concerted effort to minimize his accomplishments, but besides racial division, what did he accomplish? Even mild mannered Mitch Landrieu noted that “Nagin doesn’t do anything well.”
On his way out of the door, it seems Nagin will try to handcuff his successor as much as possible. Nagin criticized former Mayor Marc Morial for entering into contracts late in his term. Now, Nagin is awarding big money ($800,000) to the Mardi Gras organization Zulu through some sort of competitive urban development action grant. This money will be used for a new club headquarters, but it is not clear how such a project with help the economy or job growth in New Orleans. Such a sum could have been used to fix streets or open fire stations, which would have had a widespread impact on a large number of citizens. This grant will lead to questions about whether other carnival organizations should receive city funding. In addition, Council President Arnie Fielkow noted that the City Council was unaware of the project and certainly did not have a chance to approve it.
The Zulu grant is just the latest Nagin venture designed to saddle his successor. Several months ago, Nagin tried to move City Hall to the middle of the Central Business District. Luckily, the ill-advised plans to buy the Chevron Building failed.
The City Council, watchdog organizations and the news media need to keep a close eye on how Nagin utilizes city assets over the next few months. Will he plan any extravagant vacations, sorry economic development missions, to China, Rio or Paris before he leaves office?
Without question, Nagin will be busy burnishing his lame credentials and trying to bolster the poor reputation of his administration. Expect plenty of media interviews touting supposed phantom accomplishments and dealing with opposition from the nasty “shadow government.”
The public in New Orleans has already rendered a verdict on Nagin and it is not pretty. According to the latest WWL-TV poll, Nagin registered an anemic 20 percent approval rating, which is lower than any other mayor in New Orleans history. One thing that Nagin has accomplished is that he created a new category for himself, the most unpopular Mayor of all-time. With such public animosity, it was not surprising that he was booed at the Lundi Gras celebration and questioned about the increased use of parking meters.
As a parting gift to the citizens, Nagin seems intent on bolstering city revenue by increasing the use of traffic cameras and parking meters, two disincentives for people to work and visit New Orleans. In reality, the Mayor can truly help the budget situation by refraining from any more questionable grants, unnecessary travel and unneeded contracts. Yet, don’t expect such niceties from the Mayor; it will be a confrontational and divisive final few months in office, not any different from the last eight years of his administration.
Jeff Crouere is the Host of “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. He is the Political Analyst for WGNO-TV ABC26 and a Columnist for selected publications. For more information, visit his web site at RingsidePolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com
It wasn't my 'logic' that caused the typewritter manufacturers to go out of business, rather they couldn't sell enough of them to stay in business. They had the 'supply' - but the 'demand' was insufficient to cover their expenses. So they went out of business. That is neither 'good' nor 'bad' - it is merely a reflection of 'what consumers' want (or ... 'don't want'). BTW, there's a white-winged dove that has been in residence on the offshore platform I work on for 5 or 6 months (maybe seven?). Quite the little survivor, especially considering the occasional hawks that fly around out here. Every time I come out here I think he won't still be around, but he's survived. Written by kpf
on 2/24/2010
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Dayamm, talk about stretching the attention span!!!! Written by
on 2/24/2010
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>>>>>>>>>The typewritter manufacturers going out of business wasn't a "economic crises" - it was simply a matter of the public saying "typewritters! we don't need no stinkin' typewritters!"<<<<<<<< ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? I suppose this is where your logic escapes me……. I can think of many an environ where an old fashioned manual typewriter can come in handy, and the lack of it can have some bearing on an ‘economic’ crisis…. Depending on your definition of the severity of one as in Category 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 or whatever…. PERHAPS MY BIGGEST THOUGHT ON THE SUBJECT, AND FORGIVE ME FOR PARAPHRASING MY TEACHER IN AN OBLIQUE MANNER WHEN I SAY – “WELL HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TYPE YOUR REPORT IF THE POWER GOES OUT AND YOUR BATTERIES ARE DEAD’???? (I used to hear the kids in the classroom when I was young, who, complaining about having to do ‘long hand’ math, whined – “Why can’t I just use a calculator’???? Of course there was always the standby, the slide rule and I bet you ain’t seen one of those in several moons, but then again, that was a whole new ‘set’ or ‘standard’ of ‘skill levels’ now ain’t it? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-jha-jhar-dee-har-dee-har-har-har…….. And you want to wax vainly about "THAT compromises our country vis-a-vis our global competors and potential enemies."?????? Puhleaaaasseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, gives us a break.... Clackity, clack, clickity clack, tippy toe, tippy toe (the sound of high heels).....
Written by
on 2/24/2010
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"GM? It falls within the strategic importance to national defense category" - I really don't think GM going thru bankruptcy and restructuring - instead of taxpayers having to "bail them out" to prevent them from suffering the consequences of their bad decisions would place our country in danger, none whatsoever. Without knowing jack about chicken farming I do know that if you provide people with what they want at a price they're willing to pay, your business will thrive. If your overhead is so high you can no longer compete, then you need to reduce your costs, not beg or bribe elected officials to cover your shortfalls with taxpayer dollars. If all elese fails and you simply cannot run your business at a profit, then either you are incapable of running it as well as your competetors or your product is simply not wanted by the public (or "wanted" at the price you are trying to sell it for). Either way, the business should close as "profit and loss" is not "luck" or "misfortune" but rather an indicator of whether that product is needed. The typewritter manufacturers going out of business wasn't a "economic crises" - it was simply a matter of the public saying "typewritters! we don't need no stinkin' typewritters!" No bailout or subsidy required. The business closes, the people find other jobs. Life goes on, the country is still strategically protected. On the other hand, going into debt to Red China to prop up business failure, NOW THAT compromises our country vis-a-vis our global competors and potential enemies. Written by
on 2/23/2010
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If the business, football team, chicken farmer, car manufacturer, etc. cannot stay in business without government subsidizing them, then they are not meeting the needs of the people and should go out of business. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Sort of a one dimensional way of looking at things there chief... Things are not so easy to fit into a cookie cutter template with the "they are not meeting the needs of the people and should go out of business." attitude..... Many factors come into play... Football team? Out of business? How about just playing on a football field the team can sell tickets enough to cover the cost for? Chicken Farmer? Hey, maybe if the dude wants to raise chickens, time to close the ranch down and move closer to the processing facility... Or do pre processing plant procedures, or grow your own chicken feed (which incidentally, I don't think you understand the chicken/poultry raising business, I have many gripes on that subject and believe me, the chicken plant or Pilgrims or Fosters wasn't the problem, however their business model or approach was....... And I guess I would have to charge a consulting fee to cover the time I would have to spend dissecting the Pilgrims model and the Fosters model vs. the Tyson's model to show how taxpayer dollars weren't necessary, how the farmers were never really at risk (aside from their creditors, who in the loop were pulling the strings from behind the curtain to cause this paradigm to occur), and how now, because the all consuming vacuum or black hole was blown into a hyperbole. Car manufacturer? Big Biggy there...... GM? It falls within the strategic importance to national defense category..... I already did partial dissertations on both subjects, and again, I do not possess the pay grade rating that would behoove me to set things down in black and white from A-Z on the implications, values, virtues, or detriments of those subjects in the context of how they were pursued and became the adverse subjects of someone else's objectivity.... This is all so very trivial….. But you know something, you almost stumbled upon the epiphany when you posted: Foolish people in the past have burrowed into the earth in search of "wealth" in the form of one mineral or another. However, Ben Bernanke and Barak Obama are sooooooooooo much smarter than these fools that they simply "create" wealth (money) out of thin air (and there by help the states with their red ink). WOW! BRILLIANT!.................. Ahhhh, but for people playing with matches that still don’t know how to build the fires up for the furnace that is necessary for the forging of steel….. Written by
on 2/23/2010
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Merci .. I used "out" instead of "our" - my communication skills do need work .... Written by kpf
on 2/23/2010
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"do some GOOD" ... Written by ... I meant to say (dag-nab-it)
on 2/22/2010
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uh ... perhaps my communication skills need work .. anyway .. I don't think any business, farmer or bank, not GM nor Chrysler, not a football team, nor a bank ..not even our sacred chicken farmers should get a dime of taxpayer money ... unless ... that individual taxpayer chooses to purchase this entity's product. If the business, football team, chicken farmer, car manufacturer, etc. cannot stay in business without government subsidizing them, then they are not meeting the needs of the people and should go out of business. Let their employees find work making a product people want, let out finite capital (it is "finite" despite our Federal Reserve "creating" money - that is an illusion as it only devalues the money currently in circulation or in savings) be used where it can "do some " as defined by "the people" with their willingness to spend the money they labor for as THEY see fit - not how Obama, Jindal or some other dipshit thinks it should be spent. Written by kpf, I do sincerely hope that clears things up
on 2/22/2010
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Nice little dandy dancy dance there chief, you still didn't validate your observation.... Just more lip service. Written by
on 2/22/2010
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"how do you explain the, I don’t know the exact amount, but the 200 to 300 million dollars pumped into the “Saints” one way or another" - gosh I dunno - I "think" that "the people" did not approve this by ppopular vote ... or am I mistaken? I don't remember approving this, or money to chicken farmers, etc., etc. I'm pretty sure our elected officials gave this money away, not the people. Certainly not the people who pay taxes. Like .. I should WANT to see the "Stelly" tax come back so that elected officials can give away a portion of my wages to multi-millionaire Tom Benson? Not just "no" ... but "hell no!" FTS Written by kpf
on 2/20/2010
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<<<<<<<………………..how do you explain the, I don’t know the exact amount, but the 200 to 300 million dollars pumped into the “Saints” one way or another, be it a ‘new and improved’ Stupor Dome, or bonuses, or payroll or wutever that was frittered their way <DURING THE PAST 4 OR 5 YEARS IN PARTICULAR> instead of sound ‘protection’ from hydro/atmospheric driven events <FOR THE LOCAL INDIGENOUS POPULATION>?>>>>>> ALL “COME TO JESUS MOMENTS LAID ASIDE”…..????? Written by
on 2/20/2010
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Forget about "electing the right person" or "term limits."???? . "The people" cannot "bribe themselves" - so would this not eliminate that odorous component of our governance?????? Well if the people cannot bribe themselves, how do you explain Barabbas over Jesus? Or so the story goes……… And to put it into a local spin, how do you explain the, I don’t know the exact amount, but the 200 to 300 million dollars pumped into the “Saints” one way or another, be it a ‘new and improved’ Stupor Dome, or bonuses, or payroll or wutever that was frittered their way instead of sound ‘protection’ from hydro/atmospheric driven events? Forget about "electing the right person" or "term limits."???? Uhhhhh, why do you think “child proof” caps are put on prescription medicine bottles? I just love the contradictive nature of some folks positions that are participating on this buzzy - buzz - buzz - bloggy – blog - blog - bored board………. Written by
on 2/20/2010
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Lucy, while Jindal deserves your skepticism, IMHO so does almost every single politician. Forget about "electing the right person" or "term limits." Instead, how about take the power away from politicians and place the decision making in the hands of the people? Yeah, the process of passing laws would be slower if every policy decision depended upon the people voting on it, but there are many good reasons to do this, not the least of which is our officials taking money from the people they then craft laws to benefit. "The people" cannot "bribe themselves" - so would this not eliminate that odorous component of our governance? Written by kpf
on 2/20/2010
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Good effen riddance to King Pompous I! Maybe -- if he decides to stay in New Orleans and not give us the satisfaction of moving to Dallas -- we'll have the satisfaction of finding his car parked illegally and have it towed away; hopefully with him in it. Ahhh, what sweet justice THAT will be. Written by NaginHaterNumeroUno
on 2/19/2010
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Above own ambitions...yea, like Jindal Written by Lucy
on 2/19/2010
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Thankfully they both will soon be gone. Hopefully, Mitch landrieu will govern with integrity and place the city above his own ambitions. We'll see. Written by kpf
on 2/19/2010
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Nagin is an incompetent racist pig and he'll do everything he can on his way out to ruin our city. Suffice it to say, even the black community finally see him for what he is and they, in part, worked to neutralize Nagin's racism in our fair city. Let's hope Riley doesn't start more of his BS about how he's doing a wonderful job. He should go quietly and enjoy the quarter million that disappeared from he evidence room. The pair of racist scum are the worse thing that ever happened to New Orleans. Written by Noladude
on 2/19/2010
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The next few months will be very painful for the people of New Orleans. It will be quite a spectacle to watch Ray Nagin get ready to exit from office in May. He will not go easily into the night; he will go kicking and screaming about his great “accomplishments.” 
