When disaster strikes, don?t be a hot dog. That?s the advice Gov. Robert Ehrlich gave to elected officials on Thursday at a conference on emergency management in Laurel.
Officials from around the state heard from the head of the Mississippi agency that managed the response to the Katrina storm.
“We all took a hit,” from the American people because of the failed Katrina response, Ehrlich said. “They have a sense of cynicism about the role of government when disaster occurs.”
A repeated message was that local fire and police services are always the first to tackle any disaster, no matter what its dimensions, and state and federal officials need to know when to step in or stay away.
Ehrlich took the opportunity to explain why he did not immediately visit the scene of flooding on the Eastern Shore and Montgomery County two weeks ago.
“Typically elected officials only get in the way,” said the Governor, who said he was being briefed on the situation. “The whole process unfolded the way you expected it to unfold.”
“Hot dog-ism is a terrible thing,” Ehrlich said, explaining why he resisted being too visible in emergencies, such as the huge snowstorm that occurred four weeks after he took office in 2003. “If you [appear during disasters] too little, you?re not a leader. If you do it too much, you?re a hot dog.”
“People do not need me every hour to tell them it?s snowing. Err on the side of common sense and dignity,” the governor said.
“I think he?s right,” said Howard County Executive Jim Robey, a former police chief. “There?s a time for everything.”
One of the basic points at the conference is that elected officials need to be in command posts giving direction, not out on the streets.
