Obama's chances at re-election may
come down to a former firefighter from Alachua, Florida, who turned down
George W. Bush's offer in 2005 to make him director of FEMA.
Meet Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who will oversee the federal government’s response to what many are predicting will be the worst hurricane to hit the mid-Atlantic in decades.
Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/29/fema-director-craig-fugate-can-save-us-all-from-sandy.html
Meet Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who will oversee the federal government’s response to what many are predicting will be the worst hurricane to hit the mid-Atlantic in decades.
The last time a president’s
political fortunes relied so heavily on FEMA, it was a disaster for the
White House. During Hurricane Katrina, the man in charge of assisting
the states from Washington was Michael Browne, who was relieved of his
post because of his incompetence less than two weeks after the storm
hit. Fugate, now Obama’s FEMA director, is the guy Bush wanted to fill
Browne’s shoes.
On a press call Monday, Fugate struck a wary tone, predicting that storm-related damage and reconstruction efforts could last through next Tuesday, when the nation heads to the polls on Election Day.
Fortunately, there are few people who are more prepared for this kind of storm than Fugate. From 2001 to 2009 he was the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. In 2004, another election year, Florida was hit with four hurricanes and a tropical storm between August and September. Fugate had to replace polling stations that were damaged. At a press conference before one of the storms hit, a reporter asked what would happen if people didn’t evacuate areas Fugate said they should evacuate. “They will die,” Fugate responded with characteristic bluntness.
On a press call Monday, Fugate struck a wary tone, predicting that storm-related damage and reconstruction efforts could last through next Tuesday, when the nation heads to the polls on Election Day.
Fortunately, there are few people who are more prepared for this kind of storm than Fugate. From 2001 to 2009 he was the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. In 2004, another election year, Florida was hit with four hurricanes and a tropical storm between August and September. Fugate had to replace polling stations that were damaged. At a press conference before one of the storms hit, a reporter asked what would happen if people didn’t evacuate areas Fugate said they should evacuate. “They will die,” Fugate responded with characteristic bluntness.
Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/29/fema-director-craig-fugate-can-save-us-all-from-sandy.html
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