Nagin Re-elected Mayor of New Orleans

Mayor Ray Nagin was re-elected yesterday.

One of the reasons he won is because one of his earlier competitors, a businessman named Rob Coulig who enjoyed significant support, endorsed him. Many voters agreed with his recent advertisement for Nagin, asserting that Ray Nagin was a businessman, and that New Orleans could not afford to elect a “politician” to office. This is one factor that carried him to victory.

Now that he is our mayor, what New Orleanians must remember is that Nagin was originally elected because he was a businessman, and that he was soon admired for cleaning up corruption. His off-the-cuff, post-Katrina remarks hurt him in his efforts to get re-elected among many locals who felt he was being racist in order to get votes. Many perceived he was becoming the same kind of “politician” they opposed.

However, now that he is our Mayor …