[StBernard] Boasso to St. Bernard leaders: Don't hire Brown

[Westley Annis]

Boasso to St. Bernard leaders: Don't hire Brown

NEW ORLEANS State Senator Walter Boasso is urging St. Bernard Parish
officials to reconsider negotiating with former FEMA director Michael Brown,
who may be hired for his expertise in navigating federal bureaucracy.

Boasso, a Republican from Chalmette, says he understands that officials are
desperately looking for sources of funding to rebuild their communities, but
cautioned that Brown isn't the answer and dredges up too many bad memories
for people in his district.


Brown's reputation has recovered slightly after a videotape was released
showing him directly warning President Bush the day before the disaster that
it would be "the big one" and "the bad one" and that the New Orleans-area
levees could be topped.

St. Bernard Parish President Junior Rodridguez says Brown's knowledge of how
to work through the system's red tape would speed the flow of recovery
dollars into the parish.

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