Unfortunately, with the County Board of Supervisors’ failure to support the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury findings regarding emergency management, Kelly Hubbard was left with no choice but to resign her position as director of the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management (OEM). The responsibilities and duties of OEM are enormous. The failure of the county to provide adequate staffing and keep OEM buried in a fire response-oriented department, the County Fire Department, placed Hubbard in a no-win situation.
In 2006, then-CEO Mike Brown asked me to move from my position as deputy director of Public Health to the chief of Emergency Management. OEM had just been moved from the County Fire Department to the County Executive Office because of doubts in OEM’s performance and management. Brown stated that my background in law enforcement, emergency medical services, and particularly public health would be an advantage in OEM as he was becoming more concerned about a pandemic. Again, this was in 2006.
After assuming the executive role, and reporting directly to the CEO, alongside OEM staff I was able to accomplish significant improvements in the department…