Gulf Officials Demand Local Leadership, Spill Emotions Like Oil

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

Local officials met with President Barack Obama’s special BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission in New Orleans Tuesday to deliver a strong message to Washington from Gulf Coast citizens.  

“The response needs to be driven locally,” said A.J. Holloway, Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Charlotte Randolph, President of Lafourche Parish, LA said that local residents can serve as guides to cleanup crews struggling to keep up with the spewing well.

“In a war, there are two things that happen. Number one, you find the people in that particular area who can speak the language, and number two, you find the people who know the terrain,” Randolph said. “It’s our territory, we know it. Let us advise you all the way in how to attack this.”

Local leaders compared the administration’s handling of the Macondo/Deepwater Horizon gusher to the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, during which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has since become somewhat of a dirty word on the Coast, was harshly criticized for having worked remotely and inefficiently.

“We’ve been through hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, recessions, depressions and we survived it all,” Mayor Holloway said. “What we have trouble dealing with, is something that will not end. It’s a new oil spill every day, every single day.”

Mayor of Grand Isle, La. David Camardelle said that locals are standing strong and lending helping hands when needed, but is still uncertain as to what the future holds for the Gulf.

“We’re not gonna give up, but I can tell you one thing, by taking everything away from us, from the waters, I don’t know what the hell’s gonna happen to us,” said Camardelle.