New Orleans’ Mayor or FEMA in Charge of City?

The boundaries of federal versus local authority in the US has been an area of debate since the Constitution was ratified. This area is located largely in the land of political theory, but in the case of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, “who’s in charge?” is a question upon which lives still hinge. So, the recent spat between New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and the feds gives one little cause for optimism.

The kerfuffle began with the mayor telling folks to come on back to his city to get on with rebuilding. His plan was to open up the upmarket Garden District, the French Quarter and Uptown one zip code at a time between today and Monday September 26. All told 180,000 residents were to come back, about 35% of the city’s population before the hurricane hit. The mayor, of course, has a political agenda. It’s not much fun being mayor of a ghost town.

For their part, the feds pointed out that basic services have been restored only partially. President George “Nero” Bush himself weighed in saying “The mayor — you know, he’s got this dream about having a city up and running, and we share that dream. But we also want to be realistic about some of the hurdles and obstacles that we all confront in repopulating New Orleans.” While the administration is rarely realistic (Iraq, Social Security Privatization, the deficit, taxation, ad infinitum), it is impossible to disagree.

The debate was quickly shelved, unresolved, not by mutual agreement but by the growing threat of Hurricane Rita, which is currently passing from the Florida Keys toward the Gulf Coast. Mayor Nagin has reversed himself in light of new facts (a sign of intelligence), “Now we have conditions that have changed. We have another hurricane that is approaching us.” Everybody leave again is his new policy.

However, the fact remains that federal and local officials have been stepping on each others’ feet to avoid blame while retaining jurisdiction over the mess in the Gulf. The feds don’t have the needed local knowledge, and FEMA is not an elected entity. Meanwhile, the mayors of the municipalities affected lack the big picture. What can Mayor Nagin say or do to help people in Gulfport or Biloxi, Mississippi? Mercifully, there is another tier of government.

Governors have both a good appreciation of the local landscape, or they wouldn’t have been elected, and they have a duty to the entire state. Even in a place like the Gulf Coast where four states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida) are very close together, the governors are ideally placed to run relief. A modest proposal – let them govern, and let the Feds take orders from them. Just as the National Guard can be federalized (that is put under the control of Washington, DC), surely the federal agencies and assets should be placed in the hands of those best placed to respond with local knowledge and an understanding of the big picture. And with that in mind, maybe the people of California should reconsider their recall of Grey Davis now rather than risk an earthquake with the Terminator at the helm.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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