Выборы мэра Нового Орлеана 2002 года

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The New Orleans mayoral election of 2002 was an election for Mayor of New Orleans; the primary round of voting was held on February 2, 2002, followed by a runoff on March 2. It resulted in the election of Ray Nagin as mayor.

In New Orleans, Louisiana mayoral elections, there is an open primary. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run off election is then held between the top two candidates in the primary round of voting. In this case, the runoff was held on March 2, 2002. In the runoff, Ray Nagin defeated Richard Pennington to become mayor of New Orleans, the first time in over 50 years that a New Orleans mayor had been elected with no previous experience as an elected official.

The primary campaign was relatively short and quiet. The candidates agreed on most major issues, including the need to boost the city's economic climate by eliminating patronage and improving public schools. Some controversy arose from one of Nagin's main campaign planks, a proposal to sell or lease the city's Louis Armstrong International Airport and use the money to improve roads and schools. Other candidates proposed regionalizing the airport, but were unwilling to take the drastic step desired by Nagin. Nagin also proposed setting up committees to oversee the appointment of officials in an effort to curb political patronage, while Pennington insisted on retaining mayoral prerogative in appointments. Nagin was also the only candidate to oppose a living wage referendum, which passed but was eventually defeated in court. Nagin went into the primary round of voting with influential endorsements from both the Times Picayune and the Gambit. Outgoing mayor Marc Morial did not endorse any candidates in the primary or the runoff; both leading candidates were promising a reduction in the patronage that was so prominent in Morial's administration. The runoff campaign saw Nagin pick up endorsements from defeated candidates Singleton, Carter, and Lucas. The campaign took a negative turn when ads appeared attacking Nagin's credentials as a member of the Democratic party, and when Pennington professed to have information about Nagin that 'sickened him to the core', without specifying its nature.