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Maxwell named new ADEM director Saturday, Jul 1, 2006 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - David Maxwell, a 27-year veteran of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, was named director of the agency Friday. Gov. Mike Huckabee named Maxwell, who has served as the department's deputy director since March 2002, to replace John Brackin, who resigned last week. Brackin announced his resignation after the agency gave itself a failing grade on a preparedness assessment it did for the federal government. "The unexpected and abrupt departure of John Brackin made it necessary to fill the director's position as soon as possible with someone who has the experience and the knowledge that Maxwell has," Huckabee said in a release. Brackin resigned June 23 after a newspaper reported that the agency gave itself a failing grade on a preparedness assessment. He also apologized to the governor. Later Friday, at a news conference to discuss his recent trip to Asia, Huckabee said he did not ask Brackin to step down, and added that he did not think the issue merited the director's resignation. "I do believe that as governor I absolutely have to know what an agency knows, particularly if it's bad news, and certainly Mr. Brackin is aware of that," the governor said. "Why the federal agency and the press, frankly, was told something different than what I had been told, I don't know. That was problematic, I made that very clear," the governor said. "I didn't feel that whole issue necessarily rose to the level of requiring his resignation, but he submitted it, and once he did, I felt if he felt that way I should accept it," Huckabee said. As deputy director, Maxwell was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the state office. He previously managed ADEM's Plans and Operations Division. |
