New FEMA Head's Troubling Record

Very quickly after Mike Brown's resignation as FEMA director, President Bush appointed U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison to the post. He" has served 30 thirty years as a fire fighter and has significant emergency management experience. However, there are several past incidents that may cloud Paulison's confirmation hearing."

excerpts from E Pluribus Media:

Paulison's questionable recommendation that families stock up on duct tape and plastic sheeting to protect against bio-terror attacks caused a stampede on hardware stores and considerable embarrassment for former Homeland Security director Tom Ridge.

Days before Bush originally nominated Paulison to the Homeland Security Department, the Miami-Dade Fire Chief suspended three African-American firefighters who removed an American flag from a fire truck claiming that the banner was blocking their view. The incident turned into a high-profile case where Paulison was accused of discrimination and violating the free-speech rights of his employees.

Paulison's tenure as Miami-Dade County Fire Chief included several major accusations of unfair treatment of African-American employees. A history of allegations of racial basis is not an attractive quality for the new leader of an agency that has been perceived as not responding quickly enough to take care of the needs of African-American citizens.

Paulison's money management skills were called into question in 2000 over a major capital project whose final cost was more than double the budgeted amount. A record of sound fiscal management should be a mandatory requirement for the leader of an agency that has been tasked with overseeing the expenditure of tens of billions of disaster recovery funds.