When it comes to natural disasters, pols should let the experts have the floor

Manatee County Government deserves kudos for its efforts to radically improve communications following a relatively poor performance during Hurricane Debby. Those efforts paid off during Hurricane Helene, at which time residents could access critical information much more easily. The next step in those efforts should include elected officials yielding to public safety experts when the cameras and microphones come out.

For as long as I can remember, storm-related communications have come from the public safety director—you know, that seasoned expert whose boots are on the ground as their staff spring into action during a response. For years, most of us rarely saw former Manatee County Director of Public Safety Jake Saur until hurricane season, when the various county administrators would defer to him to inform the public because he was the guy with the pertinent information.

This all changed when the hapless Scott Hopes was hired. Ever the narcissist, Hopes insisted on being front and center anytime a camera was afoot. Hopes loved getting his face on local news broadcasts and holding court in the Emergency Operations Center, tooting his own horn whenever the opportunity arose (and even when it didn't).

When Hopes departed under a cloud of scandal, then-Manatee County Commission chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge decided it was his turn to be front-facing, instituting the unprecedented practice of an elected politician acting as the face of county government during emergencies and non-emergencies alike. Thankfully, Manatee County voters have sent Van Ostenbridge packing. Still, current chair Mike Rahn also seems unable to resist dawning a polo and ballcap to take center stage during such events.

The Sept. 27 EOC update provides a case in point. Rahn played host to attending media, spending precious time talking about the great job the county did and back-patting fellow elected officials. This departed radically from such events in neighboring counties like Pinellas and Hillsborough, where an administrator introduced public safety officials who immediately began dispensing critical information—the way Manatee County used to and should continue to do.

The time to pat each other on the back is not the immediate aftermath of a disaster as devastated residents desperately attempt to restore some modicum of order in their lives. It's crucial to show respect for the audience's situation and wait until everything is over. Then, if you want to talk about the response, use the commissioner's comments portion of a meeting to tip your hat to everyone’s hard work and resilience.

As a rule, politicians tend to be more self-centered than most. But one of the first rules of electoral politics is that optics matter. It's never a good look when you take someone else’s disaster and try to make it your moment.

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. His 2016 short story collection, Casting Shadows, was recently reissued and is available here.