Irresponsible attacks on Ray Nagin

[TSmith]

Last night, I watched MSNBC. Joe Scarborough has obviously chartered a "bash Ray Nagin bandwagon". His absolute ignorance of the situation is infuriating. The man cannot even pronounce the name of my city. And now, he's attacking my mayor, calling his management of the situation and his re-entry plan "borderline criminal".

First, his management of the entire crisis... Ray Nagin rode out the storm in the Hyatt hotel. As some may know, the hotel now looks like a bomb went off inside. He lost all power, and communication during the height of the storm. The city's ability to move resources was cut off by 15 feet of water. This would cripple any city government... I don't care who you are. All city infrastructure and communication capabilities were knocked out. He then stayed with the people, both in the Superdome, and in the convention center. He witnessed people dying, and walked past dead bodies. He sent out an SOS on his blackberry... the only means of communication he had. His police force was paralyzed. Phones were out, power was out, city vehicles flooded, and people dying around him. Seriously, the man needed help. He had no more power to do anything about it than you or I.

Second, his re-entry plan. The first re-entry plan was scrapped due to Hurricane Rita. Fine, the man is not a meteroligist. But, the re-entry plan underway as we speak is also drawing fire. People are calling New Orleans a "toxic city". Whatever. I live here, and my area is not toxic. In fact, it's rapidly returing to normal. Algiers is on the other side of the Mississippi from the rest of the city, with it's own water, power, and sewer systems. All are in perfect shape. This is WITHIN the city limits of New Orleans.

He also wants to let people come back to downtown, the French Quarter, and parts of uptown. I have driven all over this city. The areas he wants to re-populate are dry. 95% of areas within the re-entry plan DID NOT FLOOD.

Rumors of mass lawlessness, looting, and the like are vastly exaggerated. THe national guard troop who got shot in the Superdome? Guess what... he accidentally shot himself... in the leg. According to the NOPD, and the National Guard, reports of lawlessness inside the Superdome and the convention center are just false, simple as that. The vast majority of storefronts along Canal St. remain untouched. Not one storefron in the French Quarter has been broken into. It's just horrible reporting, and mass rumors.

As much as the national media would love for New Orleans to perpetrate a 21st century doomsday scenario, this will not happen. Vast areas of the city are livable. Business owners are ready to do business again. People are dying to come home. Obviously, large areas of the city are indeed not livable. Fine, but don't try to make it seem like the whole city is a toxic waste dump. It's time to get this city going again.

[RiverwoodCLT]

When you lose 80% of your city to a flood, and you lose everything you need to survive on, it hard to response to the disaster. Ray Nagin says he could better, I am sure it is true. He went on TV asking for help, and it took 4 to 5 days before it came.

There are question about the school buses that could have been used, but they could not carried everyone out of New Orleans.

Communications were not up to help police to know what was going on.

You had national news sitting on the interstate showing what was going on (not in Super Doom), and it took 4 days for help to come. If the national news could get there, were the buses to get those people out,

and troops to come in to help secure the city.

I do not know any mayor that could do much under the conditions Nagin was under. We are not talking about a few buildings in one block, but thousands of homes and comerical building under water, with no way to pump the water out.

Hopeful New Orleans will get a better disaster plan, training and equipement to reponse to the next disaster that may hit this city.

This should not happen again. Cooridination between city, state and federal should be put in place so all will know what to do in a disaster like hurricanes.

[Plasticman]

Nagin isn't alone but he failed miserably. I watched several of his interviews on MSNBC and Fox and his incoherant babblings and finger pointing in every direction but himself was disgusting. The man is a mental midget. Sorry Tsmith but before the storm, I thought he was a good mayor.

http://libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=107745

[Florida]

I still think the guy is ok. I don't know how he can wake up in the mornings to be honest. If my city was just torn apart like that, I'd be a nut case. The guy is cool.... after all he's just a mayor, how much can he really do? Its time to get past the finger pointing and blame game stuff... God doesn't make mistakes.

[Seabreeze]

While I was working on the Gulf Coast, I heard many people not happy witht he mayors disaster plans. Especially when I was in Slidell and closer to New Orleans. I went down with the impression that FEMA was evil and Ray Nagin was a hero. My opinion has since changed. To protect this man without knowing the full extent of everything is rediculous. It would be just as silly to stand here and say Bush had no blame because I like Bush, and will not sit by and watch my president get bashed. Ray Nagin is just as responsible as anyone else, as responsible as the governer, the organizations who were to protect the people, and the United States Government.

[NCB]

The man is a mental midget. Sorry Tsmith but before the storm, I thought he was a good mayor.

Mental midget? Plasticman, I respect your opinion, but I dont know why you think Ray Nagin is a mental midget.

This man is the main reason why New Orleans was turning the corner to amazing growth before Katrina rolled through. This man eliminated a great deal of the currupt bussinessman and politicians that were destroying New Orleans that were left here by prior mayors. Ray Nagin played a key role in bringing bussiness back to N.O.

He also played a key role of turning New Orleans into "Hollywood South", and bringing hundreds of millions of dollars into New Orleans with Movies beeing shot here. He has done an amazing job as mayor, in the last few months alone, jobs in N.O. have gone up, income for New Orleanians has gone up, major towers have been proposed or approved for Downtown, several projects to beautify N.O. have been completed, or are still in progress, plans for a major light-rail system from downtown N.O. to Armstrong Intl' Airport have been brought up and N.O. has recieved federal funding to prepare the area for the LRT, Street Car routes have been brought back or have been proposed for a revival, and he has been able to bring more police officers here, resulting in the crime rate going down considerably in some areas.

When Ray Nagin took office, New Orleans was going down...fast. Now New Orleans has been going up..fast. He turned the city upsidedown and caused N.O. to get back on its feet again.

We as New Orleanians see Ray Nagin in his everyday job as the mayor of New Orleans. We see him calm, composed, we see him in a normal enviornment. You see him on CNN after the strongest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. rolls through his city, you see him frantic, pleading for help that isnt coming, and you see him after 80% of his city is under water and 1000's are dying. How was he suppposed to act in that situation? I would like to meet the person who can stay calm under the circumstances that he was facing.

I'm not saying he did everything right, because he didnt, but what im saying is you should not judge Ray Nagin because you thought he was crazy on a CNN interview, you should judge him on what he has done with New Orleans, and what he has done with this city is exceptioal.

Ray Nagin was a great mayor before Katrina, he is a great mayor now, and he will be a great mayor in the future...

[Plasticman]

Mental midget? Plasticman, I respect your opinion, but I dont know why you think Ray Nagin is a mental midget.

This man is the main reason why New Orleans was turning the corner to amazing growth before Katrina rolled through. This man eliminated a great deal of the currupt bussinessman and politicians that were destroying New Orleans that were left here by prior mayors. Ray Nagin played a key role in bringing bussiness back to N.O.

He also played a key role of turning New Orleans into "Hollywood South", and bringing hundreds of millions of dollars into New Orleans with Movies beeing shot here. He has done an amazing job as mayor, in the last few months alone, jobs in N.O. have gone up, income for New Orleanians has gone up, major towers have been proposed or approved for Downtown, several projects to beautify N.O. have been completed, or are still in progress, plans for a major light-rail system from downtown N.O. to Armstrong Intl' Airport have been brought up and N.O. has recieved federal funding to prepare the area for the LRT, Street Car routes have been brought back or have been proposed for a revival, and he has been able to bring more police officers here, resulting in the crime rate going down considerably in some areas.

When Ray Nagin took office, New Orleans was going down...fast. Now New Orleans has been going up..fast. He turned the city upsidedown and caused N.O. to get back on its feet again.

We as New Orleanians see Ray Nagin in his everyday job as the mayor of New Orleans. We see him calm, composed, we see him in a normal enviornment. You see him on CNN after the strongest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. rolls through his city, you see him frantic, pleading for help that isnt coming, and you see him after 80% of his city is under water and 1000's are dying. How was he suppposed to act in that situation? I would like to meet the person who can stay calm under the circumstances that he was facing.

I'm not saying he did everything right, because he didnt, but what im saying is you should not judge Ray Nagin because you thought he was crazy on a CNN interview, you should judge him on what he has done with New Orleans, and what he has done with this city is exceptioal.

Ray Nagin was a great mayor before Katrina, he is a great mayor now, and he will be a great mayor in the future...

So then he wasn't warned about the hurricane, he planned well, and he made the best use of the resources at hand to evacuate the city?

[NCB]

So then he wasn't warned about the hurricane, he planned well, and he made the best use of the resources at hand to evacuate the city

He could have done a much better job of evacuating the city, and he should have done it earlier, he has said that himself, but I am not talking just about the hurricane. I am talking about him as a mayor overall. Up to this point, he has done an exceptional job as the mayor of New Orleans, I was simply saying that people who don't know much about him, or dont know much about what he has done for New Orleans should not judge him simply off of what happened with the evacuation or what they saw on TV. Yes, he made mistakes, but it seems that everyone did during Katrina, and he should not be called a bad mayor because of this incident. I know that this will follow him around forever, but he is still a very good mayor, a very good person, and hopefully people will be able to see how much of a difference he has made for the city of New Orleans.

[TSmith]

NCB, you made the case. Great job.

I guess what hurts me the most is that I saw the election of Ray Nagin as a real turning point for New Orleans. He is a businessman, fighting against corruption and economic stagnation. The fruits of his efforts were really beginning to blossom. NCB stated the progress very well. To me, he is a great mayor, whose plans for the city's renaissance was being relized before this disaster. Now, he's being forced into another role... an almost superhuman role that was not in his plans. He is one man, one great mayor, stuck in a horrible situation. He's not Superman... he was a business oriented mayor, and the archietect of an emerging city after years of squalor. Businessmen from all over sang the praises of doing business with this mayor. They said he was a "delight" to do business with. No hands out, just words of encouragement and thanks for investing in New Orleans... that's what they got from Ray Nagin.

I was looking forward to a full 8 years. 8 full years without disasters, to see just how far he could have brought this city. Now, it's derailed, he's dejected, and I just hate to see him in this position. He is a good man, and has the best of intentions for this city. For that, I defend him.

[NCB]

TSmith, I was looking forward to a full 8 years as well. But now, we will be able to watch New Orleans return to its glory, and become even better than before!

[Sundodger]

Nagin need to resign. He should have done so a month ago. He didn't follow the city's own evacuation plans & he also ignored the calls to call for a mandatrory evacuation on Saturday. Add in the drowned busses & the breakdown of the police force, Nagin is atleast 50% responsible for the mess down there. He & Blanco can try to pass the buck back & forth but they should both just shut up & quit; they messed things up enough.

[NCB]

Add in the drowned busses & the breakdown of the police force, Nagin is atleast 50% responsible for the mess down there. He & Blanco can try to pass the buck back & forth but they should both just shut up & quit; they messed things up enough.

How is the breakdown of the police force Nagin's fault? Its not his job to manage the NOPD, that job belonged to Eddie Compass, and it wasnt even his fault that officers disobayed their orders and left the city, or took advantage of the situation and started looting.

It's extremely hard to manage and control an entire police force when the city you are working in is partially destroyed, there is no power or communication, you are surrounded by toxic floodwater, and their are still criminals shooting at you and trying to loot.

[UptownNewOrleans]

I'll be honest, I was very critical of Ray Nagin in the past, and still am to a large degree but the man did a good job of keeping himself and N.O. together during Katrina. He was the first to tell you 'Yeah I didn't do this bla bla bla' but overall, I think he's done a good job pre & post-Katrina.

[TSmith]

Whoa! This is an old thread. Interesting to see how my views have changed. Just goes to show you how much he's alienated his base with his remarks and the lack of progress here. It's a shame, because you can tell by this very thread just how much I supported the man. Now, I'm voting for Mitch.

[tombarnes]

I do think that Ray Nagin did his best for New Orleans. I also think he cares deeply for the city and its people- all of them. Having said that, I think it's important for New Orleans to move on from the past in a VISIBLE way. This would include turfing Mr. Nagin. I'm troubled by the dynastic elements of another Landrieu in office, but the choices are stark at this point. New Orleans needs to move forward. I have not been persuaded that reelecting Mr. Nagin is effectively moving forward.

[dimebag1980]

The one thing I recall hearing on network TV about Ray Nagin, during the whole Katrina fiasco, was that he high-tailed it out of New Orleans and went to live in Dallas. But here I read he was stuck in the Hyatt Hotel. I'm not sure what to think of the whole thing, but I do know there was way too much finger-pointing from the city level, all the way to the national level.

I don't know what kind of mayor that Ray Nagin was, but I do know that this was an unprecedented event and I can't think of anyone who would have handled this situation perfectly. No one is perfect; it's easy to be an armchair quarterback, but what about trying to walk a few miles around New Orleans in Ray Nagin's shoes during that whole fiasco? No one in this country wants to do that, and I've got to give the man credit for trying to get everyone back to the city... and on top of EVERYTHING he went through... running for mayor again!!

[tombarnes]

I'm reading Douglas Brinkley's new book The Great Deluge, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast right now. It's a bit dry, but is still interesting. Brinkley refers to Nagin as "an energetic show horse, not a nuts and bolts work horse." Seems appropriate....

[NCB]

The one thing I recall hearing on network TV about Ray Nagin, during the whole Katrina fiasco, was that he high-tailed it out of New Orleans and went to live in Dallas. But here I read he was stuck in the Hyatt Hotel.

I'm not completely sure, but I think he sent his family to live in Dallas, and he was stuck in the Hyatt when Katrina rolled through. He was criticized heavily when he left the city for a week or two a little while after Katrina to go to Dallas to spend some time with his family.

[UptownNewOrleans]

He was criticized heavily when he left the city for a week or two a little while after Katrina to go to Dallas to spend some time with his family.

That's ridiculous. The man wanted to be with his family so those who criticized him can go to hell. Nagin got re-elected, I kind of knew it from the get-go. I look forward to what he's got in store for the N.O.

[NCB]

That's ridiculous. The man wanted to be with his family so those who criticized him can go to hell. Nagin got re-elected, I kind of knew it from the get-go. I look forward to what he's got in store for the N.O.

I agree. You can't blame the guy for wanting to be with family after Katrina. And I'm also looking forward to seeing what he's got in store for New Orleans.

[SlidellWX]

I'm actually very pleased with the results. Nagin is a businessman and knows how one thinks. That is what we need in office right now. He was doing well with developing new business before the storm...and I think he will have an even better success rate now that we have this GO Zone in effect. I'm also pleased with the new city council. It's good to shake that council up with reformers and people who may not try to impede some of Nagin's ideas like the old council did. I'm sure Jackie Clarkson is a nice lady...but she just seemed to define old school NOLA politics to me.

I'm confident the city is headed in the right direction. Once we get these CDBG grants going...things will really take off. If my job wasn't in Slidell...I'd move into the city.