The day before a paralyzing snow began falling on metro Atlanta last week, a top official in the Georgia Emergency Management Agency told his boss that he might have to postpone a trip to Washington the next day.
“Still a lot of possibilities with this storm,” Gary Kelley, a deputy director, wrote in an email to GEMA director Charley English, about Kelley’s upcoming trip.
“Sure is warm outside,” English responded.
“Yeah, I hope it stays that way, but unfortunately, I am not optimistic,” Kelley wrote.
A crush of traffic and ice gridlocked the city the next day, and English became the unhappy face of a state that couldn’t handle two inches of snow.
Gov. Nathan Deal was dismayed by the email traffic the AJC reported on Monday, and English’s future as GEMA chief is in doubt, according to a person close to Deal who did not wish to be identified.
Publicly, Deal continued to defend English Monday, as he did last week.
“He openly acknowledged he made a mistake,” Deal said. “I think that most of us in our lives have made a mistake. Probably not as obvious as maybe this one. But he is conducting himself as I would expect him. And he has been very diligent in keeping me and my staff updated on the conditions until the state of emergency was terminated last evening.”
English, who was paid $122,000 last year, was asked Monday whether he took the storm response seriously.
“I really appreciate you giving me a chance (to comment) but… I better not, I’ve probably said enough,” English said.
'Call if you need me'
Emails released to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show a GEMA leader clearly caught unawares by the storm and its potential impact on Atlanta.
In one email obtained by the AJC, Kelley warned English on the Sunday before the storm of a band of snow stretching south of Atlanta. English's reply: "Wondered what NWS (National Weather Service) was saying. Had heard some broadcast meteorologists predicting something."
‘This winter weather thing’
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