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Mayors Behaving Badly

Debra Lam's picture

Prison cell inside Alcatraz, San Francisco, CAEarly this year, former Mayor of New Orleans (2002-2010), Ray Nagin was charged with using his office for personal gain, accepting more than $160,000 in bribes and gifts in exchange for city contract work after Hurricane Katrina, as well as other city benefits.1 In total, a federal grand jury charged Nagin with 21 counts of corruption, including bribery, conspiracy, money laundering, wire fraud, and false tax returns. Nagin’s deputy mayor, Greg Meffert already pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and kickbacks for influencing city contracts in 2010. Nagin was Mayor of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit, which makes the charges all the more damming. One of the worst natural disasters to hit the US, Katrina killed almost 2000 people across five states. FEMA’s estimated damage totaled $108 billion.2 New Orleans was especially hard hit, with the infamous levees and other infrastructure failing, and widespread socio-economic despair. Of course there were many factors, including the federal and state responses or lack thereof that made preparing for and rebuilding New Orleans challenging. But a strong mayor would have benefited New Orleans tremendously, and Nagin was not up to the task.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish*

Dan Hoornweg's picture

Blasty Fish, Dr. Seuss‘From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!’
That one blue fish cost a million plus,1 that one blue fish and all the fuss.

In cities here and cities there, you’d think by now we’d be aware.
That we’d take some care for what is rare. But here’s another to make you stare:

Soup can come with a shark’s fin; yes, so strange a fin that’s mixed right in.2
So much money is being spent, just how far can we go, and to what extent?

‘Say! What a lot of fish there are.’ Yet there they go near and far.
Tuna, sharks and even rhinos too; all sold in a city near you.

Save a fish, save a tiger, save an elephant or two. Here’s what a kid could do
Shout ‘Oh Mr. Mayor in that great big chair, is your city doing its fair share?’

Snakes and Dragons in the Year of the Mayor

Dan Hoornweg's picture

Year of the Snake graphicFirst the good news: Earlier this month, Mayor Iñaki Azkuna of Bilbao, Spain was awarded the prestigious World Mayor Prize for 2012. Mayor Azkuna was in good company. Other finalists included the mayors of: Perth, Australia; Surakarta, Indonesia; El Paso, USA; Changwon City, Korea; Auckland, NZ; Angeles City, Philippines; Zeralda, Algeria; Matamoras, Mexico; and somewhat surprisingly, Mayor Regis Lebeaume of Quebec City, Canada.

The bad news for 2012 and mayors was best seen in Canada. The World Mayor Prize shortlisting of Mayor Lebeaume came amidst a spate of problems for other mayors in the Province of Quebec. At least four mayors resigned over corruption allegations in Quebec, including Montreal’s Mayor Gerald Tremblay.

A tale of three men and 40 cities

Dan Hoornweg's picture

WB and C40 Climate PartnershipDriving through Sao Paulo yesterday, I was struck by the power of cities. While cities are part of the climate change problem, they need to be part of the solution too. They are bigger and more energized than any individual or organization. Cities push and cajole; and cities act. Cities are where it all comes together. 

Even more so when former President Bill Clinton, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined forces in Sao Paulo. The accomplished gentlemen born less than a dozen years and 1,500 miles apart spoke and fielded questions with a worldly and gracious informality. The pleasant exchanges sat in contrast to the underlying gravity of their mission. Together they have determined to access their considerable resources to tackle one of the biggest challenges they’ve ever faced: climate change.