stems.gohsep.la.gov
Gov. Landry announces a major restructuring of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, placing the office under the National Guard.
“Jeff Landry is saying that he’s trying to save money. It was one of his campaign pledges. It’s one of his images I think he likes to promote,” says political analyst Bernie Pinsonat. “This is the rage right now in the United States, especially with conservatives. Modernize (and) slim down government agencies, slim down government in general and save taxpayers money.”
As for what effect this will have on emergency response, Pinsonat points out that Landry already has a couple emergencies under his belt in the early stages of his governorship, including Hurricane Helene and the winter storm in January.
So Pinsonat says Landry has a good idea of the level of staffing needed – and not needed.
“Things could go wrong,” says Pinsonat, “but the governor has a pretty good feel right now, because we’ve had a couple emergencies he’s been involved in, and apparently he feels comfortable that this will work.”
National Guard Brigadier General Jason Mahfouz will serve as GOHSEP’s interim director, taking over for Jacques Thibodeaux, who Landry had appointed to the position last year.
Pinsonat says it’s unclear what other personnel moves will take place.
“The legislature has to fund all of that stuff,” Pinsonat says, “so the legislature should be looking at that stuff when they’re looking at the budgets which are coming up and how much money we will save, we should get a picture of that.”
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