Governor tells HSC: "We must make sure the lessons we learned from the last few months are not lost"
Oregon Homeland Security Council convenes emergency response experts and leaders from across Oregon
Salem – Governor Kulongoski addressed the first meeting of the Oregon Homeland Security Council today, laying out the scope of the mission of the advisory council. The council, established by the Oregon legislature, is charged with advising the Governor on the state’s emergency preparedness, response and recovery capacities.
“You will be the instrument for my office to shape policy and advocate for disaster preparedness and recovery,” Governor Kulongoski told the council. “In doing that, you will be moving Oregon forward and ensuring that when the unthinkable occurs, we’ll be ready.”
The council is scheduled to meet four times per year and convene five sub- committees in the areas of: prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and private/non-profit partnerships. The council will work over the next year to help the Governor develop a plan to strengthen emergency preparedness, response and recovery to present to the 2009 state legislature.
In his remarks, the Governor also emphasized that the council should take a comprehensive approach to their work, looking not only at man-made disasters, but also at all possible hazards that could affect Oregon.
“We must make sure the lessons we have learned in the last few months are not lost,” he said, referring to the December storms. “It is our responsibility to do everything we can to prepare our communities for the consequences of crisis, whether by natural causes or man-made.”
The members of the Homeland Security Council are:
Representative Jeff Barker, D-Aloha
Chief Dave Bishop, Beaverton Police Department
Representative Brian Boquist, R-Dallas
Chief John Buchanan, Siuslaw Valley Fire & Rescue
Craig Campbell, President, The Victory Group
Katy Coba, Director, Department of Agriculture
Glen Collins, Department of Homeland Security
Mark Crosby, Chief Public Safety Officer, Port of Portland
Paul Evans, Governor’s Emergency Preparedness Policy Advisor
Matt Garrett, Director, Department of Transportation
Senator Gary George, R-Newberg
Bruce Goldberg, Director, Department of Human Resources
Chief Jeff Johnson, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue
John McArdle, Mayor of Independence, Oregon
Tim McLain, Superintendent, Oregon State Police
Armond Minthorn, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla
Larry Mullins, DHA, Samaritan Health Service
Ken Murphy, Director, Oregon Emergency Management
Ken Niles, Assistant Director of Nuclear Safety & Energy Siting, Department of Energy
MG Raymond Rees, Adjutant General, Oregon National Guard
Ken Rueben, Chief Investigator/Criminal Intelligence Unit, Department of Justice
Kelly Skye, Governor’s Legal Counsel
Gerard Smith, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Chip Terhune, Governor’s Chief of Staff
Senator Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay
Fred Warner, Baker County Board of Commissioners
Max Williams, Director, Department of Corrections
Vacant –
Department of Administrative Services
Oregon Health Officer
Contact:
Anna Richter Taylor, 503-378-5040
Patty Wentz, 503-978-6169
Rem Nivens, 503-378-6496
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