The lives lost, property damaged, and economic hardships suffered due to criminal and terrorist acts pose severe problems for individual residents, communities, businesses, and all levels of government. Add to this burden the potential effects of natural, manufactured, and technological disasters, and the magnitude of preserving the safety of our communities is significant.

Local governments are the first level of government to respond to most disasters and emergencies and must be regarded as the focal point of all disaster mitigation and recovery activities. The federal government should provide funding directly to local governments for homeland security, emergency preparedness, and response.

In the face of a catastrophic event, no level of government can go it alone for any extended period. An effective intergovernmental system must be developed to ensure that federal and state emergency management officials conduct substantive consultations with local officials to ensure the best outcomes for managing for key decision-making affecting homeland security, disaster preparedness and response at the local level.

Visit our Candidate Issue Matrix to find out where the candidates stand on Public Safety.