Hagerty Emergency Expertise Handy For Puerto Rico Mayor Exchange

EVANSTON, IL — Mayor Steve Hagerty traveled to Puerto Rico last week as part of a mayor exchange group. The Evanston mayor was part of the first group of mainland mayors who have headed to the island to share their experience with disaster recovery with Puerto Rican local leaders confronting the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

More than 500,000 people are remain without power about five months after the storm. The suicide rate is spiking, health care services are struggling and tens of thousands of people still don't have clean drinking water. The Open Society Foundation's Mayor Exchange aims to give Puerto Rican officials a "direct line for aid and consultation on the myriad humanitarian, fiscal and rebuilding challenges" the island faces, according to a release.

Mayors from the mainland will also be hosting Puerto Rico mayors in their hometowns. An estimated 40 mayors will participate in the program, which is funded by the Open Society Foundations. The George Soros-founded group said it has been working in Puerto Rico for years before the storm to improve government transparency and accountability.

Hagerty traveled to the city of Isabela on the northwest corner of Puerto Rico, where he met with Mayor Carlos Delgado Alteiri.

In an account of his trip he posted after returning, Hagerty said the magnitude of the damage from the storm was as bad as after Hurrican Katrina or Andrew.

He pointed out Puerto Rico now faces the additional challenges of having little clout in Congress, their pre-hurricane financial condition "calls into question their ability to manage tens of billions in federal aid, hence the federal government is placing tight controls and oversight on the territory" and they lack the full capacity to manage rebuilding efforts.

Alteiri explained that despite managing the city with a surplus, Maria had depleted its reserves and the city now awaits $4 million in reimbursements from the state for emergency expenses.

"All that said, as terrible as these disasters are, it does provide an opportunity. To rebuild a community in a different way, to make it more resilient, to pull people and groups together with a clear sense of purpose, to employ many people and develop internal capacity, and to prove to themselves and others that we are resilient creatures," Hagerty said.

Hagerty, the founder of an emergency management consultancy, has particular expertise responding to disasters. Plus, the former vice president of his firm, Brock Long, has been appointed as the top administrator in the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Open Society Foundations President Patrick Gaspard said he was thrilled to see so many mayors eager to share experience with their Puerto Rican counterparts.

"The federal government has let our neighbors languish in darkness, dislocation and despair. We are better than this." Gaspard said. "This kind of collaboration reminds us what we are capable of, when we set politics aside, reach out our hands and help each other.”

More mayors from the U.S. mainland are scheduled to travel to Puerto Rico in the coming weeks, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.