Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon announced today the appointment of John E. Pennington to the position of Director of Snohomish County’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM). Pennington, who most recently served as FEMA Region X Director, will start July 13, as acting director until such time as the County Council makes the appointment official.
“Saving life, liberty and property during a disaster is of the highest priority for this County,” says Executive Reardon. “As the former FEMA Region X director, John Pennington brings to this position vast experience and the respect of federal, state and local government as well as homeland security officials. He has my utmost confidence. I am pleased that he has accepted this position.”
My friend then went on to say that it looked like we may be getting our own Michael Brown in Snohomish County. She sent along some information that she had pieced together in a very quick Internet search. Among the things she turned up were interesting items like the fact Pennington holds “a degree in business administration via mail and e-mail correspondence from California Coastal University, an unaccredited institution that was later called a "diploma mill" by federal authorities”. Also, as a four term republican legislator, (where he served with Democrat Reardon) apparently his only experience in handling major disasters was “as the <2000> co-chairman of the Bush campaign in Cowlitz County, where Bush lost to Al Gore 49 percent to 46 percent”. At the request of Jennifer Dunn, former republican representative from the 8th CD, Pennington was appointed FEMA Region X Director by George W. Bush.
Well, at first I was going to just let this go. I mean, I don’t have any type of degree (I may look into California Coastal now though) and even a republican can occasionally do a good job. But then I stumbled on an entry from fellow blogger, David Goldstein aka “Goldy” at HorsesAss.org: GOP insider trashes NW region FEMA chief
It seems that in September of 2005, Goldy came upon a blog entry from Kelly Hinton, a former executive director of the Washington State Republican Party (blogging at Clark County Politics), essentially ripping Pennington’s appointment to his FEMA position. Part of Hinton’s entry at the time read: ” The fact is that at the time of his appointment, John Pennington knew no more about emergency management then he did brain surgery. He got the job because Jennifer Dunn like[d] him. Period.” and then Hinton levels the most disturbing allegation: ” Then, of course, many of us became privy to a fax sent out by Pennington’s wife, making numerous allegations against him concerning domestic violence and abuse. The fax, from “Valerie Ann Pennington,” dated 11 June and addressed to, among others, the Governor and the State AG, and CC’d to both Senators Murray and Cantwell was faxed to a variety of officials in both parties. The fax says, in part, “I am the spouse of Region 10 FEMA Director, Department of Homeland Security, John Edward Pennington… on January 13, 2005, I… filed for restraining orders against my husband of fourteen years. Since that date I have filed for divorce and provided evidence to the court of a neck injury sustained during an assault from my husband on September 7, 2004. I have also provided evidence of repeated violations of existing restraining orders by Mr. Pennington, and statements from witnesses of his verbal abuse and violent temper.”
Now I agree with Goldy that divorce is a personal thing and should not be played out in some blog. However, the character of those who are paid with our tax dollars is very much in play when it involves allegations of abuse and domestic violence. While allegations are not enough to deny someone a job, they are certainly worth investigating before rather than after a final decision is made. I would hope that the County Council, as well as our local media, will do a thorough job of vetting this appointment.
Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue
2 comments:
Being slightly less open-minded and reasonable than my good and honorable friend Chad, I objected to this appointment before allegations of abuse and violence came up. In the current political climate, I find the appellation of “Republican” to an appointee’s name offensive without the need for further information. When I learned of his dicey “education” and the absolute lack of either experience or training for the appointment to Region X of FEMA, my objection was strengthened. Clearly it was a “Thank you for working on my campaign” sort of appointment – aka “cronyism.”
Now, I find cronyism to be one of many objectionable things about the Bush administration. There is a tendency on the part of Bush to appoint under-qualified people to positions of great responsibility, in what could reasonably be called “Thank you” appointments. Often these appointees are actually antithetical to the agencies for which they will be responsible. I understand that County Executive Reardon became close friends with Bush’s “Penny” (I’m guessing at a pet name here) during the time they served together in Olympia. This raises the question of possible cronyism in Snohomish County.
Executive Reardon describes Penny’s experience as vast. Perhaps this could be fleshed out with some specifics. Has he dealt with a massive earthquake such as we could have here at any time? How about a massive volcanic eruption with resulting lahar? …a tsunami? My guess is he mostly responded to fires and floods such as may be expected in this region most every year. I further surmise that he leaned heavily on the professional and experienced staff at FEMA, Region X, to guide him in the “management” of these events. I think I also read that he set up camps for Katrina evacuees. If that is the extent of his experience, then perhaps “vast” is too strong a word for it.
Speaking of the professional and experienced staff at FEMA, Region X, has anyone spoken with them? I would like to know their opinions on John Pennington, both public and private. Indeed, the truest opinions may be those spoken anonymously. Perhaps our local newspaper would take on that little research project.
Mr. Pennington may turn out to be a fine Emergency Management Director for Snohomish County. Despite my concerns and reservations, I don’t know. But the Snohomish County Council needs to do its due diligence to determine the true extent of his qualifications before confirming him. So say I.
"an email from a friend of mine" That would be me. I was given a hint by someone else that I may want to check out John Pennington, the new Reardon-appointee. Those that know me know that I cannot let that sort of thing just go by the wayside. After less than fifteen minutes of checking, I found information that, unless some background other than the appointment to FEMA Region X is available and verifiable, makes me hope that Pennington's appointment is not confirmed by the county council.
It shows poor judgment at the least, especially in someone who aspires to a critical leadership role, to obtain a diploma/degree from an unaccredited school. That an investigation later referred to it as "a diploma mill" further point against even the consideration of enrolling. Pennington's statement that he knew California Coast was an unaccredited school when he enrolled in 1998 does not further my trust in his judgment. The statement that his parents were too poor to put him through school as a reason for enrolling at an unaccredited 'university' doesn't hold water. For someone who was a four-term Republican member of the state House to depend on his parents to send him to college is not a sign of good leadership skills.
The position of Director of Emergency Management for Snohomish County should not be decided on strong references alone. An excellent director not only hires/appoints good people for positions, but also knows the subject inside and out and therefore the issues and problems that need to be addressed. In a crisis it is the Director of Emergency Management that must function at top form. The director should not be dependent upon others for guidance or to fill in knowledge gaps even in the planning stages.
I find it very interesting that the person most qualified out of twenty-five to thirty applicants just happens to be a friend of the person doing the appointing. That in itself points to the need for due diligence on the part of our Snohomish County Council during the confirmation process--if nothing else, to show that the appointment is on the up and up and that Pennington is the best qualified for the Directorship. Snohomish County deserves the best person qualified to lead Emergency Management. After all, our very lives may depend on it.
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