One year ago tomorrow, Michael Whatley was named Western North Carolina’s “Recovery Czar.” Whatley’s performance since then has consisted of failure after failure.
Recommendation: Terminate employment.
“One year ago, Western North Carolina was promised Michael Whatley would ‘lead the team’ and make ‘sure everything goes well’ but he has done nothing but fail and disappoint them,” said Mallory Payne, senior communications advisor for the North Carolina Democratic Party. “With Whatley in charge, only 12% of federal funding needs have been secured, hundreds of Western North Carolina residents have called for Whatley’s ouster, members of his own party have called the response sluggish, and even Whatley himself has admitted that he won’t deliver the relief promised. If Whatley can’t deliver for Helene victims one year into the job, North Carolinians know he won’t deliver for them in the U.S. Senate.”
Let’s walk through Whatley’s failed job performance:
- Smoky Mountain News: Helene victims still waiting for Whatley
- “Billions have been promised, but little has arrived. Whatley, charged by Trump to ensure things ‘go well,’ has done little to alter the fundamental trajectory of Helene recovery.”
- WYFF: More than 100 WNC residents request to remove Michael Whatley from FEMA Review Council
- WLOS: ‘Our needs are urgent’: WNC residents say Michael Whatley isn’t helping after Helene
- Smoky Mountain News: Step up, or step down: Whatley blames Democrats after calls to resign grow louder
- “It’s kind of funny to say ‘step down,’ because I never saw him step up,” said Margaret Ackiss, a member of the North Carolina Republican Party’s 11th Congressional District executive committee.
- “Pressed on why that total still represents only a fraction of the state’s estimated damage, Whatley said it’s unrealistic to expect full reimbursement from Washington”
- “He said the Trump administration’s creation of the FEMA Review Council is intended to correct past inadequacies and streamline future responses. Even though they won’t likely help Helene victims…”
- Charlotte Observer: Whatley invokes faith, Trump ties in WNC as Helene recovery remains incomplete
- “Some protesters accused Whatley of prioritizing his campaign over helping Western North Carolina.”
- Smoky Mountain News: Whatley backs away from Helene role during first WNC visit
- “His absence from storm-damaged areas, coupled with his reluctance to answer direct questions has eroded confidence in Whatley’s leadership.”
- Charlotte Observer: Michael Whatley brags about Helene recovery efforts in new ad. Here are the facts | Opinion
- “As far as anyone can tell, his participation in recovery efforts has been limited to his attendance at a few meetings…Needless to say, many western North Carolina residents are frustrated.”
- Spectrum News: ‘They don’t know what to prepare for’: Watchdog report finds concerns over potential FEMA changes
- “The council was expected to release its recommendations in December, but the report was delayed. A month later, it’s unclear when or if the report will actually come out.”
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