La. Social Services Chief Resigns Over Gustav Response
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana’s social services chief has resigned amid heavy criticism from the governor over her department’s response to Hurricane Gustav.
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s spokeswoman confirmed today that Ann Williamson submitted a resignation letter. It didn’t give a reason for her departure.
She steps down days after Mr. Jindal publicly rebuked her agency for the way it handed out emergency food stamps. Thousands waited for hours in the heat, with many sent home empty-handed. The problems have since been corrected.
He also criticized the department for ill-equipped shelters, including portable showers arriving three days late after the Labor Day storm.
Williamson didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. But over the weekend, she defended her department’s response with the resources it had.
