In the highly-publicized Mayoral election in New Orleans last weekend, incumbent Ray Nagin eked out a win over Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. The race was close up to the end, but Nagin claimed the victory with 52 percent of the votes.
Houstonist was momentarily stunned after seeing the results come Sunday morning, but we've warmed up to the idea since Nagin will assuredly continue his entertaining and carefree "Chocolate City" rhetoric for years to come.
Here are a few of our favorite quotes from Nagin's latest news conference.
In response to America's surprise at his re-election:
"I think this is a big reality TV show for the nation. And I just think they don't get it," he said. "They don't get the uniqueness of New Orleans. They don't really get what really happened during Katrina. All they saw was those awful images. And they really don't get Ray Nagin. Sometimes I don't get Ray Nagin, so it's all right."
On receiving a surprise call from the White House:
"My wife was concerned about how they tracked us down, because the room wasn't in our name," he said. "And I was joking with her, I said, 'Hey, it's the CIA, honey. They know everything in this country.'"
On his opponents raising $6 million:
"Once they get over the shock of me winning this election, I think they will be OK," he said. "Six million dollars is a lot of money. I wish I would have had that. I probably would have advertised in Africa somewhere."
Now that the election is over, Nagin plans to visit Houston and meet with Mayor Bill White concerning the large number of evacuees still inhabiting the city. Unfortunately, timetables for the removal of Ray "Shiny Head" Nagin billboards are not rumored to be on the agenda.
Photo courtesy of flickr user Nolacat
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