Holden hopes for federal aid with security

Gov. Bob Holden said the money to increase homeland security is currently coming out of existing state budgets and he hopes the federal government will be able to help ease the load soon.

Holden spoke to about 200 of his fellow Democrats at the Cape Girardeau County Central Democratic Committee Fall Festival Saturday night. The festival raises money for Democratic candidates.

"The security of Missouri citizens is my top priority," Holden said. "We'll do all we can."

On Sept. 11, he said, the State Emergency Management Agency was "up and running within two hours. It took days in Washington, D.C."

Holden cited his appointment of Col. Tim Daniel as a special advisor on homeland security as an effort to make sure there's a "seamless response" in the event of local emergency.

Missouri was the first state in the nation to appoint an advisor for homeland security.

The state is crucial to the nation's homeland defense, Holden said.

"We have more strategic bridges than any other in the nation," he said. That, coupled with many significant industrial and military complexes makes it imperative "to be more prepared than any other state."

Last week, state officials said security measures taken after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have cost about $760,000 and are expected to rise.

So far, all of the money has come from within department budgets, meaning other projects may be delayed or put on hold.

"We've got a very tight budget situation," Holden said. "We've had to cut $1 out of every $5 in a $2 billion budget."

Now more than 30 states are having to make the tough choices Missouri did a year ago, he said.

Investigator positions in the state's highway patrol, which had remained empty because of budget constraints, were filled after terrorist attacks Sept. 11 and subsequent anthrax threats.

Recently the Department of Health and Senior Services was allotted an extra $163,000 to hire more people. The department handles laboratory tests for potential biological and chemical agents.

Whether the departments can be further beefed up will depend on how much help the federal government can provide, Holden said.

Prepare for elections

The evening wasn't all talk of tragedy or preparing for the worst.

Holden encouraged fellow Democrats to prepare for elections next year.

"2002 is an important election," he said. It will be the first campaign after redistricting. Also, former first lady Sen. Jean Carnahan faces a tough competitor in Jim Talent, whom Holden narrowly defeated for the governor's mansion in 2000.

Carnahan was appointed to fill the Senate seat after her husband, Gov. Mel Carnahan, won the election posthumously.

After inviting everyone to visit the governor's mansion, he warned them that the current atmosphere in the mansion is much different than it has been in many years.

Having two young children and two dogs in the home makes things pretty unpredictable, he said.

He said that one time his young son unexpectedly tore through a luncheon of about 200 people while wearing a Spider-Man costume.

Though he sent the boy upstairs after "a short, frank discussion on protocol," Holden said, "as a father, I was just glad he was wearing clothes."

abuchanan@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160