She’s no outsider, so what’s the real problem?
Brooklyn: Back when Mayor Adams was looking for a fire commissioner, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association told the mayor their choice for the position would be anyone but Laura Kavanagh. Four months after Kavanagh’s appointment to the position, there is a wave of resignations from the top posts of the department. These actions beg for questions to be asked and answered. It appears from the information given to the public that the commissioner was asking for accountability from her chiefs and not getting any. If all it takes these days is your boss to ask for accountability after several months of work and the immediate response from the upper cadre is to turn and run away, then it would appear they are unqualified to hold those positions.
Kavanagh worked under Commissioner Daniel Nigro for years and held many responsibilities, including being first deputy commissioner for four years. She has worked for the department and been exposed to and surely studied its inner workings. She is now the boss. She is accountable to the mayor and the people of this city for everything the department does. Kavanagh has every right to ask for and demand accountability from her agency. If they are unqualified or unsuited for the tasks ahead, then she has every right to get rid of the dead wood. Removals have been done in past administrations.
The UFOA’s response to all of this is to present the standard, ever-overbearing misogynistic rebuttal from decades ago: “She’s not qualified.” This serves only to show it is not the woman who is unqualified or unwilling to face the road ahead, but those who turned and ran when the going got tough or uncertain.