Top 37 Quotes & Sayings by Ray Nagin

The people of our city are holding on by a thread. Time has run out. Can we survive another night? And who can we depend on? Only God knows.

I'm a lifelong Democrat, but I have supported some Republicans. I'm all about results, man. If somebody can deliver, that's where I'm gonna go. It's about who can get the job done.

This city will be chocolate at the end of the day. This city will be a majority-African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way.

If it were my decision, I'd knock the Superdome down. If I couldn't knock it down, I'd just open the roof and gut the whole inside - totally modernize it. If you just dust it off and paint a little bit but don't reimage it, the legacy will be horrible.

I want to continue to stay plugged into New Orleans and help people who are still struggling with the recovery here, and then, if I can help around the country and around the world, absolutely, I'll be open to that.

When people are dying, bureaucracy should be thrown out of the water.

We're learning as we go. We're a lot smarter this time. We understand what it takes to mobilize away from the threat of a hurricane.

One of the best moments I've ever had in New Orleans is seeing Bourbon Street filled on a weekend night not long ago. Just watching the city breathe again.

We could receive a storm surge of three to five feet.

If we're unified, there's nothing we cannot do.

I'll just tell you, I'm not a big FEMA fan.

I don't think that any person can fix FEMA. I think FEMA needs a total restructuring. I think it needs to be taken from scratch and redone. The regulations are outdated; the rules are outdated.

The reality of Katrina didn't really strike me until the first time I flew up in a helicopter and saw areas of the city that I had ridden my bicycle as a youth being fully flooded.

At the Superdome, a young man came up to me holding a baby. He'd run out of diapers. He'd run out of medicine. His baby was sick. The guy's saying, 'Help me! Take my baby.' What could I do? That's the definition of helpless.

We are facing a storm that most of us have long feared.

I always feel that in politics, you have a bridle on. Well, I took the bridle off. And I tell you, it felt pretty good.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish I had better news for you but we are facing a storm that most of us have feared. This is a threat that we've never faced before.

Basically, the start of my thinking process is: 'OK, if you didn't have to worry about re-election, what would you be doing?' That's kind of how I'm starting to think.

I was among the people in the Superdome. I knew what was going on every minute. I did not have air conditioning nor shower facilities. I made decisions based upon facts and not what I thought was going to happen. So history will judge me based upon those actions.

At the end of the day, I believe truth is stronger than any lie that's out there.

I need a break from politics, that's for sure. This is the hardest job in America.

One of the best moments Ive ever had in New Orleans is seeing Bourbon Street filled on a weekend night not long ago. Just watching the city breathe again.

We're out of nuclear-crisis mode and into normal, day-to-day crisis mode.

This economic pie that is getting ready to explode before our eyes is going to be shared equally.

I dont think that any person can fix FEMA. I think FEMA needs a total restructuring. I think it needs to be taken from scratch and redone. The regulations are outdated; the rules are outdated.

It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans - the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans. This city will be a majority African American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans.

The reality is this city will not be the same for a while, ... We're not saying bring New Orleans back today.

They're feeding the people a line of bull, and they are spinning and people are dying.

Excuse my French, everybody in America, but I am pissed.

The rise of the Earth's temperature, causing sea level increases that could add up to one foot over the next 30 years, threatens the very existence of New Orleans.

You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about.

Some of these guys are so violent that it is hard for witnesses to come forward, and they get involved in repeat criminal activities, so it is unfortunate that they had to die, but it did kind of end the cycle that we were struggling with.

I think I did everything possible known to any mayor in the country as it relates to saving lives.

It's all right. You guys in New York City can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later, so let's be fair.

Candor is the only way I know how to do it. I'm way too old to change. At the end of the day, I believe the truth is stronger than any lie that's out there.

I just tell you, I'm not a big FEMA fan.

You are in a position to create wealth not only for yourself but for your children and your children's children.