Liberty's Blog

Who Gets to Run The Show.

Via Kuff:
Governor Perry anounced his plan, for emergency hurricane evacuations, His plan involves quicker setup for counterflow traffic, and gasoline supplies for along the way. So far so good, taking on this responcibility can only make things better, although I have my doubts on just how much better. When all the roads are jammed up, I don't know how the state is going to get all these gasoline tankers in where they are needed. I'll bet that no one has figured that out yet. There is one other issue.

Under state law implemented last year, mayors and county judges have the authority to call for evacuations, but a task force convened by the governor has recommended that the governor have the sole authority to do so.

Giving the governor the authority to order evacuations would require a change in state law.

I know whom I trust, and its the people that are most accountable to me as a voter. That of course is the Mayor and the County Commissionor. There are plans, contingencies and deals made to help with the evacuations. Dozens of agencies are involved, and only the local authorities have the ability to coordinate it all.

The mayor, who called for a mandatory evacuation of the island as Hurricane Rita churned toward Galveston as a Category 4 storm, said city officials have been working on various fronts to prepare for this season.

The city has an agreement with the Galveston school district to use school buses to help evacuate people, an agreement with the city of Austin to house evacuees and plans to bring generators by barge after the storm to use in the cleanup effort.

The city also has a pact with the University of Texas Medical Branch to have medical personnel accompany evacuees on buses and even has assurances from Wal-Mart for the local store to open as soon as possible after the storm to provide food and other supplies.

Governer Perry needs to worry more about keeping the traffic moving and let us locals make the decisions that they understand so well.

Giving the governor the authority to order evacuations would require a change in state law.

That is a change that Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas does not want to see.

Thomas said that as mayor of Galveston, she and the county judge would have firsthand knowledge of the happenings on the island and in Galveston County.

"The authority given to mayors and county judges should not be diminished and turned over to the governor," she said. "As a Category 4 storm approaches the city of Galveston, a governor sitting in Austin and a president sitting in Washington will not know what is actually going on in that particular community."

When Mayor Lyda Ann says its time to leave the island we in Galveston are going to believe her. She is one of us. Does Governer Perry perry understand the difference between Britteney Bay and Omega Bay? Hopefully the County Commisioner will understand the different threats. If Governer Perry believes he deserves this kind of trust, he will have proven he is unworthy of it.

posted by Liberty @ 7:13 PM