Frustrated over state's COVID-19 response, Arizona emergency management director resigns

As the new coronavirus threatens the health and economic security of Arizonans, the state's emergency management director is stepping down.

Wendy Smith-Reeve submitted her resignation late last week, officials confirmed Saturday.

In the withering email that accompanied her resignation letter, Smith-Reeve criticized Gov. Doug Ducey's management of the state's response to the new virus, citing a "lack of communication and transparency."

She said the Republican leader's decision to put Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ in charge of the state's efforts — rather than having a trained emergency management professional coordinate them — made her own "presence and function … duplicative."

Daniel Ruiz, the state's chief operating officer, disagreed, saying the governor had "exercised his statutory authority" appropriately.

Anthony Cox, who has served as deputy director since 2017, was named acting director and will report to Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire, who oversees the broader Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.

In a statement Sunday morning, the Governor's Office said it was "grateful to have the steady leadership of Maj. General McGuire leading our emergency operations during this time," and the state wouldn't "miss a beat" despite the change in leadership.

Smith-Reeve: Response not meant to work this way

Smith-Reeve, who'd worked in emergency management for nearly 24 years, oversaw the state’s emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation efforts.

While she'd appeared alongside other state officials at recent coronavirus press conferences, her resignation email pointed to conflict behind the scenes.

Earlier this month, the governor had issued an emergency declaration authorizing Christ to "coordinate all matters pertaining to the public health emergency response of the State" and indicating the Division of Emergency Management would "assist" her.

Smith-Reeve thought it should've been the other way around.

"The directives from the Governor's Office have been to work completely outside of the State Emergency Response and Recovery Plan that the Governor acknowledged and directed the state enterprise to follow," she wrote in her email.

She added that the overlap between her own role and those adopted "by the Governor's staff and ADHS" had created a situation that was "not healthy for the Team who are working tirelessly on this event."

In a Sunday interview with The Arizona Republic, Smith-Reeve said the state's emergency response plan — which aligns with the broader National Incident Management System — was established after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to eliminate those sorts of management problems.

At the time, "nobody was on the same systems for communication, you had groups in different structures organizationally, and it was very difficult for those disparate groups to come together in a unified fashion," she said.

The state's current guidelines, on the other hand, are "about unity of effort" with emergency managers at the center, according to Smith-Reeve — rather than the "hybrid" setup outlined by Ducey.

"Our job as emergency managers is to understand the expertise and the problems that all of the other partners can help you solve," she said. "That knowledge that you have and the lessons learned from one event, you can then apply in an appropriate way much earlier in the next event.

"That's what the plan is designed to do."

COO: Efforts 'valuable, not duplicative'

The governor and his team have repeatedly said the current emergency is "unprecedented."

For that reason, the crisis has required an "all hands on deck approach," Ruiz said, with Ducey encouraging staffers "to leverage all resources, across state government, to ensure we maximize the state's response."

"This has been a successful effort," Ruiz wrote in his response to Smith-Reeve's resignation letter.

"Dr. Christ's team is focused on mitigating the spread of COVID-19. DEMA and the National Guard have stepped up to deploy needed resources in our response … And together, the teams are working with the Army Corp of Engineers to build capacity in our health care system."

Those actions, along with other state employees' development of the "Arizona Together" website, "are valuable, not duplicative," Ruiz wrote. "They should be applauded, not discouraged."

Smith-Reeve declined to comment Sunday on Ruiz's response, instead applauding the emergency managers "working tirelessly" throughout the state.

Saying she hadn't wanted to have to "take this action," she encouraged states to let emergency management professionals do their jobs.

"That's what is going to help solve the problem faster and get resources to those in need at a far faster pace," she said.

Reach the reporters at maria.polletta@arizonarepublic.com and ryan.vlahovich@arizonarepublic.com. Follow them on Twitter @mpolletta and @vlahovichryan.

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