ORANGE BEACH, Alabama – After reading his morning paper, Orange Beach mayor Tony Kennon knew what he had to do. “I’ve been on the phone with the White House and they are concerned and they want to know what’s going on.”
Feinberg is quoted as saying he’s satisfied his worst critics when it comes to the claims process. “This statement in the newspaper this morning shows it I don’t care what those bunch of dumb hicks down south say I’m gonna do what I want to do.”
Which prompted the phone call. “I’ve expressed to Valarie Jarrett, Obama’s advisor, President Obama is the only one that I feel like can step in and make something happen.”
Kennon believes that instead of keeping promises he made in Orange Beach, Feinberg is playing a numbers game, and the numbers just aren’t adding up for businesses along the gulf coast.
“What he’s done is started making more claims payments and rallying around that as a success. But, like we told him in the meeting making quick payments means nothing if your are not making adequate payments. 5 cents on the dollar, I don’t care how fast it gets too me, if I need 70 cents on the dollar to survive you’ve done me no good.”
Kennon says he is representing Alabama’s beaches, not just Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, and he will fight for the area as long it takes. “I don’t like some slick New York City lawyer coming down here trying to take advantage of us. It’s personal. It’s me against a bully. It’s just the way I see it, I’m not giving up.”
In the four weeks the Gulf Coast Claims Facility has been open just under 300 million dollars has been paid in claims. Of that, 67 point 6 million dollars has gone to Alabama.
See video here: http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/orange-beach-mayor-takes-on-feinberg/933713/Sep-22-2010_6-28-pm/
