Preparing for Disaster
Is Montgomery County prepared for what lies ahead? Whether it be unusually harsh storms, natural disaster, or federal dysfunction, our county needs to be ready. With FEMA gutted and politicized, we cannot rely on the federal support that we've had in the past and need to prepare ourselves for the future.
What Allison is going to do about it
Allison's recent career was focused on helping communities around the world prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, most often by working with local governments to ensure that communities get the resources that they need. She wants to bring this expertise to Montgomery County, where she sees increasing hazards in her home county, and help from the national government less likely to arrive in time to help.
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In May 2025, a devastating flood hit western Maryland and parts of West Virginia, damaging homes, roads, schools, libraries, and businesses. The Trump administration denied federal disaster aid to Allegany and Garrett counties, while approving $11.7 million in aid for two West Virginia counties impacted by similar flooding. It is clear that under the current federal administration that disaster aid is politicized, and that we need to be prepared to take care of ourselves more than ever.
Modern day disasters are not limited to storms or floods. In 2025, when nutrition benefits like SNAP were stopped for hundreds of thousands of Marylanders due to the federal government shutdown, states and counties had to step in, using their rainy day funds, to ensure that local food banks would be able to help families in the meantime. This county needs leadership that understands the burden that local governments will have to continue to shoulder due to sudden and harmful actions by the Trump administration.
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Allison will work with the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) to promote increased readiness for a variety of likely hazards and advocate for any needed changes to the Council. She will also prioritize consulting with federal agencies and federal workers to better understand the likely impacts of funding freezes on county residents -- to prepare and know what kind of funding will be needed before people feel the impact of a crisis.