Letter: Local and state officials messed up, not president

Monday, Sept. 19, 2005 | 9:07 a.m.

This is in reference to your Sept. 7 editorial headlined, "FEMA head should resign." In case you aren't familiar with how our government is supposed to work, here was the official chain of command for responding to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans: The mayor, the local director of homeland security (appointed by the governor), the governor, the head of the federal Department of Homeland Security and, finally, the president.

The mayor, with five days of advance notice, waited until two days before the hurricane struck to announce a mandatory evacuation (at the behest of the president). Then he failed to provide transportation for those without transport, even though he had hundreds of buses at his disposal.

The New Orleans director of Homeland Security failed to have any plan for a contingency. Then he blamed the federal government for not doing what he should have done. He also blocked deliveries of food and water to the Superdome for fear it would become a "magnet" for people. A simple call to the national headquarters of the American Red Cross will confirm this.

The governor, despite a declaration of disaster by the president two days before the storm hit, failed to take advantage of the offer of federal troops and aid until two days after the storm hit.

The federal director of homeland security positioned assets in the area to be ready when the governor called for them.

The president urged a mandatory evacuation and even declared a state of emergency, freeing up millions of federal dollars for assistance, had the governor decided to ask for it.

And by the way, the levees that broke were the responsibility of the local landowners and the local levee board to maintain, not the federal government.

Before we lay blame on President Bush, let's start at the local and state levels.

DAN ORMSBY