The most important role of government is to provide safety for all
its citizens. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and now Wilma show the need
for a strong local response. We can't wait for the federal government
to arrive on the scene of a disaster before action to protect citizens
begins. As Mayor, disaster planning and emergency preparedness will
be a priority-- from day one of my administration.
Boston is the capital and the Hub of our region. During the week, the
population of our city almost doubles during working hours. We need
strong ties with the police, firefighters, and ambulance teams, not
only in Boston, but in communities that surround Boston. We know only
too well from our nation's recent disaster experiences, lack of public
awareness of emergency plans, and communication systems failures during
disasters, compound crisis, cause panic, hamper evacuation efforts and
prevent timely relief and rescue operations for those in need.
Solutions do exist to facilitate communication when networks become
overloaded. Our city government cannot afford to wait to put these solutions
in place. We need reliable state of the art communications systems to
allow first responders to talk to each other, to facilitate outreach
within the city and to reach communities surrounding the city. To protect
our citizens, Boston also needs working partnerships with the industries
that form the backbone of our daily lives---communications, transportation,
electricity, gas, food, medical care and banking.
As Mayor, I will hold an Emergency Preparedness Summit within the first
six months of my administration. I will bring together national and
international experts, industry and municipal leaders from the Greater
Boston area to assess our current level of preparedness and deliver
a thorough and well thought out evacuation plan and will make sure that
the citizens of Boston can access that plan. I will work to strengthen
communication capabilities among our local first responders and put
in place emergency communications to reach Boston citizens and coordinate
outreach to neighboring communities.
We cannot afford to wait any longer to thoroughly address this serious
public safety issue. As Mayor, I will protect our citizens with a comprehensive
plan for disaster response. I will work to guarantee that in times of
critical emergencies and disaster, first responders can communicate
with each other and with the public. I will make sure that all citizens
of Boston are made aware of emergency procedures and I will collaborate
with surrounding communities to put in place a sound evacuation plan.
I will make Boston a national model for first responder training and
citizen safety.
Maura Hennigan
Candidate for Mayor of Boston