Nagin, Ray, 1956-

Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician and convicted felon who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Born in New Orleans, he attended St. Augustine High School and O. Perry Walker High School there before earning a B.S. from Tuskegee University. After graduating from college, he went to work in the purchasing department at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan. He moved to Los Angeles, California, then to Dallas, Texas in 1981 to take Internal Audit Manager and Division Controller jobs with Associates Corporation. In 1985, Nagin returned to New Orleans to become the controller of Cox New Orleans, the city's cable television franchise, run by the Cox media conglomerate; he was quickly promoted to general manager and was eventually appointed to oversee all of Cox properties in south Louisiana as vice-president and general manager of Cox Louisiana.

Nagin was elected as mayor of New Orleans in March 2002. The 2004 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the City of New Orleans, as certified by CPA firm KPMG, highlighted many significant accomplishments of the Nagin administration. New Orleans gained 4,500 jobs that year. U.S. Census Bureau figures showed about 38,000 New Orleanians had risen out of poverty as the national average increased. According to The American City Business Journal, per capita income in New Orleans was rising at the fastest rate in the nation. In November 2004, the Nagin administration passed the city's largest bond issue, $260 million. New Orleans also jumped from 69th to 38th on Intel's list of "Most Wired Cities". The city's website went from being unranked to the 4th best in the nation.

Many of the initial proposals to rebuild New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina focused on rebuilding areas with the highest likelihood of economic return; Nagin disavowed such proposals, and in response to residents' concerns, he used the phrase "Chocolate City" to signal that New Orleans would remain a majority black city. He was re-elected in 2006 when the election was held with at least two-thirds of New Orleans citizens still displaced after Katrina struck. Nagin was intensely criticized by the local media throughout this term. For example, his "100-day plan" to accelerate the rebuilding of New Orleans was bashed for what critics said was a tardy release, lack of details and activity in moving forward. Nonetheless, New Orleans made significant progress toward recovery. 85% of all city managed recovery projects were either recently completed, under construction, or in final design. By the end of 2009, there were over $20 billion in public & private sector construction related projects underway Term-limited by law, Nagin left office on May 3, 2010.

After leaving office, Nagin founded CRN Initiatives LLC, a firm that focuses on emergency preparedness, green energy product development, publishing, and public speaking. He wrote and self-published Katrina Secrets: Storms after the Storms. In 2014, Nagin was convicted on twenty of twenty-one charges of wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering related to bribes from city contractors before and after Katrina and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison.