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WTO and Y2K: The Story I Was Never Asked To Tell – Part 1: WTO Planning By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed WTO 1999 Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) had only learned of the pending (November/December 1999) World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in March 1999. When "planning" did begin, it was clear that Emergency Management’s inclusion was tolerated rather than welcomed. This would be a Mayor’s Office, SPD and federal (FBI/Secret Service) "show" to manage. Suggestions that demonstrations could become violent, putting safety of citizens and visiting delegates at risk were dismissed. The failure to plan adequately for [...]

WTO and Y2K: The Story I Was Never Asked to Tell – Background Information on WTO and Y2K By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Y2K In early 1999, concerns surfaced across the public and private sector that the turn of the century would require a rewrite of coding for a number of computer operated machines. Among the darkest predictions if this was not adequately addressed were dam failures, streetlights malfunctioning, missiles accidentally launched, missed payrolls, key documents lost or difficult to recover. Throughout the world, information technology experts were tasked with identifying and minimizing these potential disruptions. Seattle was [...]

Now for Something Completely Different: The Story I Was Never Asked To Tell By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Since September 2015, "Emergency Management Once Removed" has served as a monthly commentary on current local, regional and national emergency management and/or homeland security issues, drawing on my experiences during 12 years as Director of Emergency Management for the City of Seattle, and 8 years and 7 months as Director of the Washington State Emergency Management Division. I also served seven plus years as an officer of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) culminating in 21 months as NEMA President. [...]

Give “Electeds” Their Due By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Emergency managers often scorn the intrusion of "politics" or "politicians" into their work. Untimely "special" requests during regular business and even during a crisis feed the instinct of most emergency managers to "lay low" in a political environment. The inappropriate intrusion of Executive staff in emergency management operations often impedes daily operations: on the other hand, avoiding such contact can result in the executive NOT being kept current on major issues. In addition, executive staff, and even cabinet-level department heads, jealously guard from whom the Executive receives information. The [...]

Dividing the Burden By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Whose responsibility is it to restore the social equilibrium in a post-disaster environment? It is not solely the government’s role to provide the “answer” in difficult times. Each of us has a role. Some of the burdens of a participatory democracy fall on individuals and private interests. When a disaster strikes, it’s never "good enough" to wait for the feds to arrive with money and resources, ignoring the responsibilities of state and local government to anticipate events that could bring the affected jurisdiction's economy and society at large to an [...]

Climate Change and Emergency Management By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed At the 2007 National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Annual Forum, I persuaded the Chair of the Preparedness Committee to allow a presentation on climate change at the Committee’s meeting. The expert speaker, Bob Freitag, a former FEMA official turned academician, proved uniquely qualified to describe the looming threat from the perspective of an experienced emergency manager turned academician. Freitag’s message was sobering. The ensuing discussion was the first of its kind within NEMA and very likely any emergency management gathering. Potential consequences that in 2019 seem apparent to [...]

A Problem or an Opportunity? By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The Disaster Reform and Recovery Act (DRRA) addresses longstanding issues in the disaster management system. Pre - Disaster Mitigation (PDM) is touted as a high priority for attention – so far, so good. Here is the problem: FEMA appears to be proceeding too fast with too little consultation with state and local emergency managers. The federal rules and accompanying guidance have yet to be developed or vetted with state and local emergency managers. The BuildStrong Coalition has put forth 14 key principles that they recommend be employed in [...]

Homeland Security: “If seven maids with seven mops swept it for half a year…”* By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), formed post 9/11, consolidated 20 plus federal agencies under a single Cabinet-level Secretary. There were naysayers among the ranks of emergency managers. I was one of them. Among our concerns: emergency management might be severely under – supported due to ignorance, incompetence or institutional jealousy. We were prescient: Who could forget the attempts to substitute "prevention" for "mitigation", or the determined efforts to "zero out" what we now call the Emergency Management Performance [...]

Just One More Thing By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed As the Washington State Legislative Session kicked off, the Seattle Times listed several topics that were the highest priorities for consideration. They were, in no apparent order: K-12 funding; Special Education; Climate Change; Opioids and Behavioral Health; and Public Records (a Seattle Times’ fixation). Each seems worthy of attention. Missing, however is call for a thorough review of the potential for a major or catastrophic disaster and the efforts and resources currently committed to dealing with them. Local and State governments are far too dependent upon the federal government [...]