Christopher Holley

As the state attempts to combat the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Christopher Holley is trying to make sure the 26 Florida counties now placed in a state of emergency are able to cope with the environmental and economic damages.

As leader of the Florida Association of Counties, Holley is responsible for assuring that the interests of all 67 Florida counties are represented at the state Capitol and elsewhere. And in a time of crisis, such as this, it's a struggle to get out the right information to counties facing an unprecedented environmental disaster.

Holley took a rare moment of free time to speak to Sunshine State News about his job and his life.

What is your job? Executive director of the Florida Association of Counties

What is your age? 57

Where were you born and where do you live now? I was born in Crestview, Fla. We bounced around a little bit and we settled in the Tampa Bay area when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I now live in the Tallahassee area.

Where did you go to college? Florida State University. Got a degree in government.  Went to graduate school at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Got a master’s in public administration. Worked for the city of Temple Terrace while in graduate school.

What did you do before starting this job? After finishing graduate school, I worked for Collier County as an assistant county administrator. Went on to the city of Naples as a director of community services for seven years. Was a county manager for Suwanee County for three years after that, and county manager in Okaloosa County for 13 years after that. I came back to Tallahassee to work here five years ago next week

What are your biggest priorities when responding to the oil spill? We like to say that all of our services fall into three words. We advocate. We educate. And we collaborate. For the oil spill, we’re doing all three.

It’s a very emotional issue for everybody. It’s a tragic event that will affect our state for years and years. And our members are struggling to get, good, accurate information. We’ve collaborated with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection almost from day one of the event. We’re just trying to get them the tools and the knowledge they need to be able to protect the environment, to recoup the cost that is occurring.

At the federal level we are advocating. At the state level, we’re advocating. Obviously in the governor’s office. We have two members appointed to the Gulf Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force, so we’re helping them educate and helping them advocate on behalf of counties.

What has been the biggest failure in responding to this crisis? I’m very cautious to point fingers because I don’t put blame. I put blame on BP obviously, this is their event.

The understanding of how to prepare and who to turn to for financial resources and who to turn to for guidance on how to contract for contractor services at times has been frustrating.

We’re trained on a FEMA Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act hurricane model. We’re good at that. We know how that model works.