C. Ray Nagin for Housing Secretary? Are you f'ing kidding me?
With the economic disaster taking its proper center stage role, and the intense interest in who will be selected for Secretary of State, perhaps it is just asking too much that anyone pay attention to some of the other possible cabinet picks. But if we can, let's keep our eyes on some other balls.
Rumor in New Orleans has it that President-elect Obama is considering tapping Mayor Nagin for Housing Secretary: Nagin is presumed to have done a good job after Katrina.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The failures after Katrina occurred at all levels of government, to be sure, with the federal government's negligence being the most egregious. However, Nagin has been completely ineffective. More than that, he has been mostly absent. Following Katrina, he moved the mayoral election forward several months, ostensibly to allow more people to return to the city and vote (despite the fact that people were permitted to vote from their temporary homes in other states) and to work on his "plan." We were told that he would have a plan for the city within 100 days after his election. Months later, we were told that he was developing a plan to make a plan and that the plan for the plan would be available in a few months. It is now mid-November 2008, and he still has not presented any plan, not even a plan for a plan for the recovery of New Orleans. About a year and a half ago (that is, a year and a half AFTER Katrina), he hired an academic, Dr. Ed Blakely, to head the recovery. This week we learned that Dr. Blakely spends less than 50% of his time in the city or on recovery-related business, devoting himself instead to research for his academic career. Mind you, no one was heading the recovery BEFORE Ed Blakely.
Most people do not realize that New Orleans is far from "recovered." Many neighborhoods are virtually empty. Whole sectors of the city are still protected by the National Guard rather than police. Many fire stations have not been rebuilt. We talk about these areas of the city as the wild west frontier--lots of squatters, meth labs, criminals living in empty buildings. People who try to rebuild find that as fast as building materials are delivered, they are stolen.
Nagin is a folksy guy, and he used to seem fairly intelligent. But he has done virtually nothing for this city, spending most of his time immediately after Katrina convincing people who had emigrated to Houston and Atlanta to vote for him. He does not communicate with the people of the city. Occasionally we see him on the news talking to the city council about his budget, but he has not exhibited any leadership since the storm at all. He refused free help from major urban planning organizations. He summarily rejected several great ideas for bringing attention, materials, and planning efforts to the city. This city has been rebuilt, to the extent that it has, solely on the efforts of its citizens and a host of volunteers from around the country. Nagin's administration hasn't even cleaned up the blighted properties owned by the government. He effectively supported Congressman WIlliam Jefferson, the politician who was caught by the FBI with $90,000 of cash hidden in his freezer collected in a scam to reward his own family when he doled out lucrative government contracts to Nigerian companies. Jefferson has no committee assignments now and so can do nothing to help the city. One must wonder why Nagin did not throw his support behind another viable candidate.
But perhaps worst of all, he is a terrible manager. He hires unqualified people, he does not supervise them or require them to do their jobs, he is constantly at odds with other elected officials whom he needs to work with him, and he is impulsive. He has done nothing to solve the housing crisis--or even to begin to address the housing crisis--in this city after Katrina or in this current economic downturn. I can't think of a worse choice for this position.
Anyone who has Obama's ear should make sure that Clarence R. Nagin is a name that never is considered for any position in the new administration. Come on down here, President-elect Obama, and talk to the citizens of New Orleans. Take it from us, you do not want this guy on your team.
Rumor in New Orleans has it that President-elect Obama is considering tapping Mayor Nagin for Housing Secretary: Nagin is presumed to have done a good job after Katrina.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The failures after Katrina occurred at all levels of government, to be sure, with the federal government's negligence being the most egregious. However, Nagin has been completely ineffective. More than that, he has been mostly absent. Following Katrina, he moved the mayoral election forward several months, ostensibly to allow more people to return to the city and vote (despite the fact that people were permitted to vote from their temporary homes in other states) and to work on his "plan." We were told that he would have a plan for the city within 100 days after his election. Months later, we were told that he was developing a plan to make a plan and that the plan for the plan would be available in a few months. It is now mid-November 2008, and he still has not presented any plan, not even a plan for a plan for the recovery of New Orleans. About a year and a half ago (that is, a year and a half AFTER Katrina), he hired an academic, Dr. Ed Blakely, to head the recovery. This week we learned that Dr. Blakely spends less than 50% of his time in the city or on recovery-related business, devoting himself instead to research for his academic career. Mind you, no one was heading the recovery BEFORE Ed Blakely.
Most people do not realize that New Orleans is far from "recovered." Many neighborhoods are virtually empty. Whole sectors of the city are still protected by the National Guard rather than police. Many fire stations have not been rebuilt. We talk about these areas of the city as the wild west frontier--lots of squatters, meth labs, criminals living in empty buildings. People who try to rebuild find that as fast as building materials are delivered, they are stolen.
Nagin is a folksy guy, and he used to seem fairly intelligent. But he has done virtually nothing for this city, spending most of his time immediately after Katrina convincing people who had emigrated to Houston and Atlanta to vote for him. He does not communicate with the people of the city. Occasionally we see him on the news talking to the city council about his budget, but he has not exhibited any leadership since the storm at all. He refused free help from major urban planning organizations. He summarily rejected several great ideas for bringing attention, materials, and planning efforts to the city. This city has been rebuilt, to the extent that it has, solely on the efforts of its citizens and a host of volunteers from around the country. Nagin's administration hasn't even cleaned up the blighted properties owned by the government. He effectively supported Congressman WIlliam Jefferson, the politician who was caught by the FBI with $90,000 of cash hidden in his freezer collected in a scam to reward his own family when he doled out lucrative government contracts to Nigerian companies. Jefferson has no committee assignments now and so can do nothing to help the city. One must wonder why Nagin did not throw his support behind another viable candidate.
But perhaps worst of all, he is a terrible manager. He hires unqualified people, he does not supervise them or require them to do their jobs, he is constantly at odds with other elected officials whom he needs to work with him, and he is impulsive. He has done nothing to solve the housing crisis--or even to begin to address the housing crisis--in this city after Katrina or in this current economic downturn. I can't think of a worse choice for this position.
Anyone who has Obama's ear should make sure that Clarence R. Nagin is a name that never is considered for any position in the new administration. Come on down here, President-elect Obama, and talk to the citizens of New Orleans. Take it from us, you do not want this guy on your team.
Advertisement
Leave a comment