New Chief Sets Tone For FEMA

David Paulison survived the rough-and-tumble of Miami-Dade politics as fire-rescue chief in the 1990s, but he knew he "stepped into a mess" when he agreed last month to become FEMA's acting director.

The federal emergency agency was excoriated for its slow response to Hurricane Katrina, chief Michael Brown was forced to resign and late-night talk show hosts had only to say the word "FEMA" to get a derisive laugh.

Then came three hurricanes that hit in his first six weeks on the job. The most recent, Wilma, crippled South Florida, leaving millions without power, including his home in Davie.

"There's a lot of opportunity to fail, but also a lot of opportunity to succeed," he told The Miami Herald in his first interview since mid-September, when he took the job.

The stakes are huge. President Bush and Congress are raising expectations for the beleaguered agency, he's constantly in the media spotlight and his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, has outlined major changes he wants at FEMA.

Now Paulison, 58, a Miami native who has worked in fire-rescue and emergency operations for 30 years, is overseeing FEMA's response to the wide swath of damage inflicted on his home turf.

"My favorite grapefruit tree is a goner, and our screened enclosure is in the pool," Paulison said in his Washington office. His wife Kathy goes to his mother's house in Weston, which has power, for showers.

"But we're a lot better off than most people," he added.

Local officials he knows well - and neighbors - were clamoring for more assistance. Broward officials complained that for hours on Tuesday, the day after the storm, they did not know where some FEMA-contracted trucks they expected were.

"We learn something from every hurricane, and this one covered such a wide area it made distribution of supplies difficult, but for the most part we succeeded" in the relief effort, Paulison said.

This serial hurricane season has made it difficult for Paulison to concentrate on revamping and upgrading FEMA the way Chertoff wants. But the former Miami firefighter said he is making progress, "especially in communications," learning lessons from Katrina.

On one of the hot issues of the week - should FEMA or the state provide generators to gas stations that lacked power - Paulison said that's the responsibility of the oil companies, not government.

"The big oil companies make lots of money off us, and they need to step up to the plate and put generators in gas stations - maybe not all, but some," he said, adding that most supermarkets and other large retailers were running a day or two after the storm.

Paulison has already had to make some tough calls. He rejected appeals from Miami-Dade officials to allow residents to get direct assistance for Katrina damage because it didn't meet FEMA's standards. "That was the right thing to do," he said.

"I could have agreed to the appeal, and get a pat on the back from Dade, but it would have ruined my credibility with the whole rest of the country."

When Bush tapped him to succeed Brown, Paulison recalled, a White House personnel official asked him if he could handle the political pressure in Washington.

"As he was asking me this he looked down at my resume and said, 'Oh, you're from Dade County - never mind,' " Paulison recalled.

Many Floridians and security experts praised Paulison's selection as a boost for professionalism in an agency accused of cronyism. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Miami Democrat who lauded Paulison, said recently that FEMA desperately needs more experienced emergency managers at all levels.

Paulison said that even as an acting director, he has "the latitude and support" from Bush and Chertoff to bring in the people he wants and upgrade FEMA's logistics.

In the wake of Katrina he pledged to review some of the massive no-bid contracts that were awarded, and help smaller and minority firms get a shot at contracts.

Paulison demurred when asked if he would like to remove the "acting" in front of the director's title: "I agreed to serve on an acting basis and I have no other expectations."