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

[Westley Annis]

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

05:49 PM CDT on Sunday, April 9, 2006

The Associated Press 

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

"Do we hire an individual to assist in our recovery efforts who as FEMA
director resigned two weeks after Katrina made landfall?" Boasso,
R-Chalmette said. "We were in the middle of the worst natural disaster in
our nation's history." 

Boasso said 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. 

"I wish there was a silver bullet for this one, but we have to be realistic
and make sound decisions for the people we represent. 

"Brown is just a sad reminder to my community of our needless loss of life
and property, and we shouldn't have to struggle with that reminder so soon
in the midst of our rebuilding," Boasso said. 

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. 

"They were crucifying him, and then the tapes came out showing that they
knew all along," St. Bernard Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez said
Friday. 

Rodriguez said he and three council members met with Brown informally in a
hotel lobby when they were in Washington, D.C., last week lobbying for
recovery assistance. 

Rodriguez and the council members who met with Brown in Washington said they
found him down to earth and eager to help. Rodriguez said Brown's knowledge
of how to work through the system's red tape would speed the flow of
recovery dollars into the parish. 

Like previous FEMA directors, Brown has formed a consulting company that
tries to help businesses and communities negotiate the maze of federal
bureaucracy. He has said he hopes to help St. Bernard get some publicity for
its plight and do whatever he can to help. 

St. Bernard was one of the hardest-hit parishes in the storm, with 129
people killed and 26,000 homes destroyed. Federal rules prohibit Brown from
lobbying his former agency directly for another five months, though he will
be able to tell parish officials how to deal with the agency. 

St. Bernard officials said talks are preliminary, but Brown said he and
parish officials are drawing up a contract and might formalize it by the end
of the week.