Friday, September 30, 2005
"Think Locally On Relief", Says Jeb
Think Locally On Relief: "In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Americans are looking to their leaders for answers to the tragedy and reassurances that the mistakes made in the response will not be repeated in their own communities. Congressional hearings on the successes and failures of the relief effort are underway.
As the governor of a state that has been hit by seven hurricanes and two tropical storms in the past 13 months, I can say with certainty that federalizing emergency response to catastrophic events would be a disaster as bad as Hurricane Katrina."
Congrats to WaPo for giving Jeb ink, the last thing they probably wanted to do. This op-ed is worth the read. If any local or state official should know about disaster response and recovery, it is him. You know, one of the arguments that was brought up on a news network the other day was that when federal officials are brought in, they often are not familiar with the lay of the land, the people in the outlying areas, etc. like local officials do. As we have seen, knowing who lives outside the population centers has been incredibly important. Knowing who the hold-outs are is something only a local would know. There is still a ton to learn about how to make responses to disaster more effective, but if I were to make a team to make those decisions, I would call Jeb first.
As the governor of a state that has been hit by seven hurricanes and two tropical storms in the past 13 months, I can say with certainty that federalizing emergency response to catastrophic events would be a disaster as bad as Hurricane Katrina."
Congrats to WaPo for giving Jeb ink, the last thing they probably wanted to do. This op-ed is worth the read. If any local or state official should know about disaster response and recovery, it is him. You know, one of the arguments that was brought up on a news network the other day was that when federal officials are brought in, they often are not familiar with the lay of the land, the people in the outlying areas, etc. like local officials do. As we have seen, knowing who lives outside the population centers has been incredibly important. Knowing who the hold-outs are is something only a local would know. There is still a ton to learn about how to make responses to disaster more effective, but if I were to make a team to make those decisions, I would call Jeb first.
