Nine months after DC insider Michael Whatley was named the federal Hurricane Helene “recovery czar,” Western North Carolinians are blasting Whatley for “doing nothing” as the federal government withholds hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster relief.
Over the past few weeks, Western North Carolinians have shown “growing frustration” and “express[ed] anger” at Whatley for being “absent,” saying he “is to blame” for the delays. Over the weekend, Whatley was protested for “neglecting Helene recovery” and “prioritizing his campaign over helping Western North Carolina.” This follows more than 100 Western North Carolinians calling on Whatley to be removed from the FEMA Review Council.
Read What Western North Carolinians Are Saying:
Smoky Mountain News: LETTER: Whatley doing nothing for WNC
- Michael Whatley was appointed by the President to lead WNC’s Helene recovery efforts, but as of Aug. 29 — as reported in an article in The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 27 — he hasn’t been seen in WNC since January. He’s found time to attend just two meetings for his appointed role with FEMA.
- Nearly a year after Helene, our federal government is withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in relief funding that they’ve already approved for us.
- Here we are still trying to recover, repair and rebuild, and where’s Mr. Whatley, who was tasked by the president himself with coming to our rescue?
- Maybe two meetings is all we’re going to get from Mr. Missing Mike Whatley?
The Mountaineer: LETTER: Where is our federal relief coordinator?
- Western North Carolina has a long way to rebuild after Hurricane Helene. Unfortunately, the federal government doesn’t seem to understand that fact as it holds up millions of dollars in relief, but now we know why.
- In January, President Trump put Michael Whatley in charge of Western North Carolina relief efforts. Yet I’ve been reading in the news recently that Whatley hasn’t been showing up and doing the work to help us. There is no evidence that he has set foot in WNC since January, and it seems the only work he has done is attend three meetings.
- Millions of federal dollars should be coming into our communities to help us repair roads, remove debris, and rebuild homes and businesses. Our communities are still devastated nearly a year after Helene. But what has Whatley done about it? Absolutely nothing. What has he gotten for WNC? Absolutely nothing.
Smoky Mountain News: OPINION: Despite tepid D.C. response, the work goes on
- Despite those tens (hundreds?) of thousands of hours of volunteer help in the immediate aftermath, those of us who live here know the truth, and it’s grim. One year after Helene, only 9% of requested funding from Congress has arrived in our mountain region. Gov. Josh Stein and countless other leaders have made heart-wrenching pleas, but so far, the powers that be in Washington are — let’s be clear — not doing what they’ve done in past disasters for other parts of the country. I personally feel like it’s my job to continue to bring that up. We would like to be marking a time when we are closing out the recovery, but truth is we’re just getting started. It’s going to take many years.
- I’ll be honest when I say we in Western North Carolina appreciate the resources that so far have come from the state and federal government. But local governments are bearing a burden they can’t afford, and one that the federal government has traditionally funded…
- As we watched how federal resources were slow to trickle into WNC after Helene, something else also became apparent: local and regional nonprofits were on the ground making things happen, looking after the housing, healthcare and other essential needs of our neighbors…
- The physical look of Western North Carolina has changed forever. Rivers have carved new paths; downtowns are gone. Some places where we had structures and homes will never again be built upon. What carries on are the people, their resilience and their hopes for the future. Theres work to do, and I’m guessing it will eventually get done despite the as-of-yet tepid response from DC. That’s what happens in this place we call home.
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