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Obama Narrows Choice for FEMA Director to Pair of State Emergency Vets
By EILEEN SULLIVAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two seasoned state emergency managers have emerged as the Obama administration's leading candidates to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Florida's emergency manager Craig Fugate and former Iowa emergency manager Ellen Gordon are the administration's top two choices, according to two administration officials familiar with White House deliberations on the appointment. Both officials asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.
The announcement is expected within days, one official said.
FEMA has been under public scrutiny since the Bush administration's botched response to 2005's Hurricane Katrina turned the FEMA director into a punchline for late-night television comedians.
After Michael Brown was fired by President George W. Bush, Fugate and Gordon were among the names under consideration to replace him.
At the time, Fugate indicated he was happy in his Florida job. Gordon confirmed that she had been approached about the job and said she wasn't interested because she was not convinced the Bush administration would make FEMA a priority.
Both Fugate and Gordon have more than 20 years of emergency management experience.
As head of Florida's emergency management agency since 2001, Fugate oversaw the response to several hurricanes, including 2005's Dennis and Wilma. Gordon was head of the Iowa Emergency Management Agency in 2004 when storms tore across parts of the Midwest, hitting the hardest in Iowa.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who oversees FEMA, stressed the need for the agency to work with local and state emergency managers.
Napolitano is currently in the Midwest surveying the damage from recent ice storms.
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Associated Press writer Liz Sidoti contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two seasoned state emergency managers have emerged as the Obama administration's leading candidates to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Florida's emergency manager Craig Fugate and former Iowa emergency manager Ellen Gordon are the administration's top two choices, according to two administration officials familiar with White House deliberations on the appointment. Both officials asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.
The announcement is expected within days, one official said.
FEMA has been under public scrutiny since the Bush administration's botched response to 2005's Hurricane Katrina turned the FEMA director into a punchline for late-night television comedians.
After Michael Brown was fired by President George W. Bush, Fugate and Gordon were among the names under consideration to replace him.
At the time, Fugate indicated he was happy in his Florida job. Gordon confirmed that she had been approached about the job and said she wasn't interested because she was not convinced the Bush administration would make FEMA a priority.
Both Fugate and Gordon have more than 20 years of emergency management experience.
As head of Florida's emergency management agency since 2001, Fugate oversaw the response to several hurricanes, including 2005's Dennis and Wilma. Gordon was head of the Iowa Emergency Management Agency in 2004 when storms tore across parts of the Midwest, hitting the hardest in Iowa.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who oversees FEMA, stressed the need for the agency to work with local and state emergency managers.
Napolitano is currently in the Midwest surveying the damage from recent ice storms.
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Associated Press writer Liz Sidoti contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Doug on
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Awe, can't they just keep Paulison for a little while longer? Eh, either way, anyone is better than Brown who had NO experience.
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Permalink Reply by lloyd on
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How can anyone say the Bush administration "botched" the huricane Katrina issue. First off it was the mayor's and goveronr' failure to act in a timely fasion and then of course you had to have some co operation from the people that were supposed to be evacuated. You can't climb on your roof and say come get me with four days advance notice and expect to get out of the city. Get real. It's so easy to blame one person, congress makes these crap laws, not the president and if he or she vetoes a good one, that's what veto over ride is for. The new president is finding it a lot harder to get things done in "good old boys" DC then he thought. Time will tell
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Permalink Reply by Budd on
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30,000 people pulled off of roof tops a mayor that didn't listen,a governor who refused to act.I am not real sure FEMA botched anything under president Bush.
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Permalink Reply by Larry Humphreys on
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In the first place if you blame Bush for the Katrina fiasco, you don't know much about the chain of command that was involved. It was the state Governor that had the first responsibility to request the aid, and didn't, even when the President first contacted her. Probably because she was a Democrat that wanted to make sure it was ok with the party before she accepted the help.
Fugate gets my vote, he's 'been there and done that'. He seems very qualified even though he doesn't have a lot of ego stroking awards and commendations attached to his biography. Its up in the air for sure, the new administration doesn't seem to put as much stock into experience as it does education and titles.
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Permalink Reply by Trainer on
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Well put guys; although Bush is an idiot, I can say that now secret service won’t hunt me down right? Katrina was not his fault, he did everything he could, but without the mayor or governor claiming a disaster his hands were tied. Since then the rules have been changed so the president can declare without going through that chain.
Now about the new appointment, experience, knowledge, doesn’t make a lot of difference, only time will tell.
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All good points in regard to the Katrina situation. However, the mainstream media has and will continue to ignore the facts of the matter in their zeal to smear the party NOT of their choice.
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This was obvious during the election! They slanted and lied until there was no truth to what they said. If Palin had been one of "good ole boys" meaning a lawyer, they might have eased up a bit. It's still the old political pea under the shell game and smoke and mirrors. I guess if I were in that position, I would not cut my throat or salery either with legislation that would really help this country!!!!
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I worked in Emergency Management in Tallahassee for 2 years, not for Mr. Fugate with with another agency and we interacted regularly after 20 in the fire service. I view Craig Fugate as very competent however his agency was extremely understaffed and overworked. If this was his philosophy, FEMA will be very inefficient. However, this could have been the result of direction form above. Craig answered directly to Governor Bush and it is well known around Florida that Bush stripped all state agencies except law enforcement and preferred to contract out other emergency services. I wish Craig Fugate luck but he will need real support from above not just B.S. and photo ops like he got from Jeb Bush.
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I just wish to offer a clarification regarding many comments I have read. How many remember Hurricane Andrew back in 1992? Here is an exerpt from an account in the wake of Andrew.
The slow response of federal aid to storm victims in southern Florida led Dade County emergency management director Kate Hale to famously exclaim at a nationally televised news conference, "Where in the hell is the cavalry on this one? They keep saying we're going to get supplies. For God's sake, where are they?" Almost immediately, President George H. W. Bush promised, "Help is on the way," and mobile kitchens and tents, along with units from the 82nd Airborne Division, began pouring in." The excuse for this problem was that the Governor of Florida never requested a disaster declaration.
As a direct result of this situation, the Stafford Act was amended to help address this situation in the future. As I recall, the amendments passed in early 1993 and Tom Ridge was a sponser and major contributer (He was a US Representative at the time).
If you examine the "CRS Report for Congress, Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act: Legal Requirements for Federal and State Roles in Declarations of an Emergency
or a Major Disaster, dated September 16, 2005." Katrina hit New Orleans on Monday 29 August 2005. 44 CFR 206.35 (a) indicates that the Governor of a State has 5 days but no longer than 30 day after the event to declare a disaster. This means the Federal Govenment can act prior to the request of a governor of designee. While this is not the norm, it is allowable.
Further, the Federal Government is authorized to preposition assets prior to an event when it is deemed that Federal assistance may be required. This is how the Federal Government can preposition assets for large event such as the Olympics. the Super Bowl, G-7 meetings, etc.
To say that the City and State allowed Katrina to get out of hand is true. However, the Federal Government through FEMA as authorized by the Stafford Act had the responsibility to act and did not. In civil court, this amounts to negligence even gross negligence.
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Permalink Reply by Terry on
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There were reporters on the ground in blocked off locations on rescue boats just to get a story, that was all over the television. So why couldn't the government get the calvary on the ground? Should've had every coast guard boats, and helo on the ground. Navy boats and helos, I could do through every branch of the military with this, and where were the federal law enforcement quick response teams. FBI, Marshals, NCIS, even the blasted Postal Inspectors could have put on some life jackets got in boat and went out trying to rescue people. Bush had every report and figure available to him, but really all he had to do was turn on to FOX or CNN. But GOD forbid some natural disaster happens in another country, and saddle up the calvary send our taxpayers money, send food, send rescue, send everything we got, but when something happens on u.s. soil we will take our sweet time.
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