Duncan letter stirs debate

Friday, Sept. 9, 2005

Some political observers criticized Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan’s ‘‘we are now on our own” letter to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. as political grandstanding.

The Sept. 7 letter attacked the federal government for its response to Hurricane Katrina, particularly the failure to transport vulnerable victims from harm’s way. He called on Ehrlich (R) to convene an emergency meeting of city and county officials to review emergency plans.

‘‘As local and state officials, we must recognize we are now on our own when it comes to timely emergency response,” reads the letter from Duncan (D).

The recipient of the letter cared little for its contents.

‘‘It’s political grandstanding, and it’s fluff,” Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese N. DeLeaver said Thursday. ‘‘This letter is politically motivated, presumptuous and misinformed ranting.”

Beyond the failings of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Duncan’s letter fires broadsides at the federal budget deficit, the diminished ranks of the National Guard and the relegation of FEMA to an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

Duncan also writes Washington has ‘‘a leadership mentality ... that somehow thinks it is acceptable to leave thousands of the most vulnerable people behind to fend for themselves.”

‘‘It’s kind of an in-your-face thing to the governor,” said Gail H. Ewing, a former Montgomery County Council member and a political science professor at Montgomery College. ‘‘I don’t think it was written to get a positive response.”

Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, dismissed the letter.

‘‘I think it’s 1 percent substance and reasoned concern and 99 percent politics,” he said.

Criticizing the federal government now, before questions have been answered about the preparedness of state and local governments, is premature.

‘‘This is all an example of political grandstanding,” Rothenberg said. ‘‘Both parties do it whenever they can. It’s hard for a politician to pass up an opportunity. ... Politicians generally want to point fingers at people before people can point fingers at them. And that’s what this sounds like.”

One observer — G. Keith Haller, president of the political research firm Potomac Inc. — said the criticism of Duncan could be opponents seizing a moment to fire a shot at the county executive, who is sure to announce a gubernatorial bid.

‘‘It seems Duncan has found a very good issue, a new issue: the absence of serious emergency preparedness in the region and the state. If we don’t look below the surface, we may have a repeat of the disaster that hit the Gulf Coast,” Haller said.

If so, no other major player across the state appears to be joining Duncan publicly. The county executives of Anne Arundel and Baltimore — Janet S. Owens (D) and James T. Smith (D), respectively — have made no formal announcements supporting the call for the regional confab. A spokesman for Baltimore Mayor Martin S. O’Malley (D) said the mayor would not be supporting Duncan’s request either.

However, after a conference call with government representatives in the Washington metropolitan region, the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments agreed to retool its emergency procedures, Duncan spokesman David S. Weaver said.

The federal response to Katrina ‘‘flabbergasted” Montgomery officials, Weaver said, considering how U.S. agencies responded to the sniper crisis in 2002.

‘‘We had FBI, [Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms] and U.S. marshals on the scene and we didn’t have to ask,” Weaver said.

DeLeaver questioned Duncan’s timing, considering survivors are still being plucked from rooftops. But Haller disagreed.

‘‘Any political strategist would say seize the moment. ... The media is paying attention. The public is paying attention,” he said.

If Duncan were to wait until after a formal investigation revealed specific flaws, it could be too late, said Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

‘‘By the time we sort that out, people will have long forgotten Duncan will have sent the note,” Sabato said.

And Duncan is not the only politician across the country using Katrina politically.

‘‘It’s popping up in a number of places. Several politicians are jumping onto Katrina’s coattails. It’s that simple,” Sabato said. ‘‘Politicians try to say things that connect to what the American people are thinking about.”

Rothenberg said he thought Katrina will become a factor for candidates of all stripes, ‘‘Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, congressmen and school board members.”

‘‘They’ll all want to stay on top of the issue. Everybody wants to get on the right side of a national disaster,” Rothenberg said.