Criticism water under the bridge: Emergency response agency expands horizon with hire of a mayor with grasp of disaster

“I know what happens when you put your name on federal documents that are incorrect.”
Truer words have probably never been spoken although such consequences apply to other documents, too.
That statement was attributed to Shana Clendenin last fall, the mayor of a small Kanawha County community, who was tapped this week for a top post at the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
You’re probably wondering,  “So what”? even if that job is a statewide 911 center supervisory position.
Clearly, leading a team that monitors calls 24/7/365 about everything from safe schools to environmental spills is a critical position.
But, what makes her appointment so unusual is she is a frontline critic of how the Justice administration’s DHSEM handles disasters — relief funds especially.
No, she will not now be overseeing grant issues. But her past criticism of Homeland Security and Emergency Management was partly responsible for her new role.
Let’s be clear, most of us are not used to this governor or past administrations hiring critics, not to mention fully qualified people, into top roles in any department.
Barring those that require professional experience, such jobs often go to cronies, large campaign donors and even family.
Clendenin has served in a dispatch center, been a paralegal, a flood victim herself and has worked with project worksheets before, during and after disasters.
No, this appointment does not rise to the level of President Lincoln’s appointments to  his Cabinet, referred to as a “Team of Rivals” in a popular book of the same name.
Yet, at every level of government, critics, who are qualified to address an issue, are rarely brought on board.
Clendenin’s criticism about how DHSEM was handling oversight of federal grant money came in torrents in the aftermath of the June 2016 catastrophic floods.
She made no attempt to keep her comments to the governor and lawmakers privy either, contacting the media, too, about her concerns  how federal funds were being squandered.
But more to the point, that running critique in recent years has  proven to be right in line with several audits.
Judging by almost all reports about our state’s oversight of federal disaster grants to help small towns in light of 2016’s catastrophic flooding, it’s difficult to find a silver lining.
And  most are even more suspicious of  small town officials’ oversight, including mayors, of millions in federal grants.
Yet, the forced resignation of some, the arrest of others and adherence to FEMA protocols now, might signal a break in the clouds.
Not to mention one new emergency official who will not so readily sign off on paperwork that is not correct.