Michael D. Brown

:For other people of the same name, see Michael Brown (disambiguation).

Media commentary

Calls for dismissal or resignation

Many media commentators from across the political spectrum called for Brown's dismissal or resignation. Robert Novak has stated that Republicans were angry that the President put lawyers such as Chertoff and Brown in charge of Homeland Security and FEMA. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/rn20050908.shtml Charles Krauthammer described Brown as "ate, slow and in way over his head" in response to Hurricane Katrina. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090801667.html He was also criticized on Nightline and by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show in a piece entitled "Meet the F**kers".

Related Topics:
Robert Novak - Charles Krauthammer - Nightline - Jon Stewart - The Daily Show

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The South Florida Sun-Sentinel published an editorial comment on September 8 2005: "othing can restore FEMA's full functionality so long as the agency's incompetent director, Michael Brown, remains at the helm. Brown, a patronage appointee with no previous disaster management experience, embarrassed himself last year with his attempts to justify FEMA's waste of more than $31 million in hurricane relief given to areas not affected by a hurricane. After a South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation exposed the waste, the newspaper called for Brown to be fired. It now repeats that call." http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorial/sfl-edittdfemablamesep08,0,4560444.story?coll=sfla-news-editorial

Related Topics:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel - September 8 - 2005

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On September 12, 2005, Brown announced his resignation as director.

Related Topics:
September 12 - 2005

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Accusations of false claims in Brown's credentials by TIME Magazine and other sources

TIME Magazine reported on Friday, September 9 2005, that it had discovered serious inaccuracies and false claims within Brown's biography posted on FEMA's web site (FEMA) and on FindLaw, a legal directory with information provided directly by attorneys and their offices (FindLaw).

Related Topics:
September 9 - 2005

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Notably, FEMA did not directly dispute the TIME Magazine article. Instead, a FEMA representative replied that "Mike Brown states there are many inaccuracies in the article."

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Assistant City Manager with Emergency Services Oversight

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In his official bio posted on the FEMA website, Brown claims previous emergency experience as "assistant city manager with emergency services oversight" for the city of Edmond, Oklahoma. According to interviews and records obtained by TIME Magazine, Brown was a college intern in the city manager's office, without hiring, firing, or other management responsibilities.

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The TIME article quoted Brown's boss at the time, Bill Dashner. Speaking of Michael Brown, Dashner stated, "He was my administrative assistant. He was a student at Central State University."

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Outstanding Political Science Professor

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Similarly, Brown's claim to have won an award for "Outstanding Political Science Professor, Central State University" also appears fabricated on two counts. According to the University Relations office, Brown had been a student, not a faculty member. To confirm this information, TIME Magazine also spoke with a former Political Science professor, Carl Reherman, whose tenure at Central State overlapped with Brown's claim. According to Reherman, Brown "was not on the faculty."

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There also appears to be a question as to whether the Political Science Department even offers such an award. Professor Reherman stated that he had spoken to the Chair about this matter the previous day and that neither individual was aware of an "Outstanding Political Science Professor" award.

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Director, Oklahoma Christian Home, Edmond, OK, 1983 - Present

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In the "Professional Associations and Memberships" section of his FindLaw biography, Brown claims to be a Director of the Oklahoma Christian Home from 1983 to the present. But according to an administrator with the Home, Brown is "not a person that anyone here is familiar with." The TIME Magazine article also quotes a veteran employee of the Home, who stated that Brown "was never director here, was never on the board of directors, was never executive director. He was never here in any capacity. I never heard his name mentioned here."

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Chairman, Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, Edmond, OK, 1980 - Present

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The TIME Magazine article missed another possible fabrication in Brown's FindLaw biography. According to his biography, Brown graduated from college in 1978 and, almost immediately afterward, began serving as Chairman of the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority from 1980 through the present.

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Yet the website of the OMPA (OMPA), which has only a couple dozen employees, does not list Brown as Chairman, an officer or an employee. According to the OMPA, Charles Lam serves as Chairman.

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Conservative bloggers

Michelle Malkin stated about Brown: "f someone is a worthless sack of bones, I'll say so. And I don't care if he has 'Bush appointee' stamped on his forehead or a GOP elephant tattooed to his backside. Brown's clueless public comments after landfall are reason enough to give him the boot...and he should have never been there in the first place." http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003492.htm Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online accurately predicted that Brown would resign from FEMA to avoid further embarrassment. http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_09_04_corner-archive.asp#075849. Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online reported that firefighters from other states were forced to take sexual harassment classes and are not being deployed to assist as emergency support in the Katrina recovery effort. http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_09_04_corner-archive.asp#075935 Goldberg suggested that politically it would be smart (and effective) to fire Brown and replace him with Colin Powell. http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_09_04_corner-archive.asp#075905

Related Topics:
Michelle Malkin - GOP - Kathryn Jean Lopez - National Review Online - Jonah Goldberg - Sexual harassment - Colin Powell

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Praise

Columnist Al Kamen of the Washington Post wrote on December 5, 2001, "the White House has searched high and low to find a deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, only to discover the best candidate was right there among them all along, serving as FEMA general counsel and acting deputy director"{{ref|kamen}}.

Related Topics:
Al Kamen - Washington Post - December 5 - 2001 - White House

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Brown's appointment to the head of FEMA in early 2003 went largely unnoticed by the media. However, the Denver Post praised the Aurora, Colorado resident as an effective leader. An editorial in the paper in welcoming his nomination opened, "Michael D. Brown is a lawyer by trade, but will need a juggler's skill as the new chief of the nation's key emergency response agency."{{ref|dpeditorial}} News items in the paper credited Brown with a "key role" in the government's September 11, 2001 recovery efforts.{{ref|dp911}}

Related Topics:
2003 - Denver Post - Aurora - Colorado - September 11, 2001

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