# Mayor Jack Scott of Cordova, AL you are a poopyhead.. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 31, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801 "2011-05-31T00:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/1 "2011-05-31T00:57:29Z")
I don’t like pittings, so I’ll let the story speak for itself. [Ala. town hit by tornadoes bans FEMA trailers](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110529/ap_on_re_us/us_fema_trailers_ban) > [@](#): > > CORDOVA, Ala. – James Ruston’s house was knocked off its foundation by tornadoes that barreled through town last month and is still uninhabitable. He thought help had finally arrived when a truck pulled up to his property with a mobile home from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. > > Then he got the call: Single-wide mobile homes, like the FEMA one, are illegal in the city of Cordova. > > The city’s refusal to let homeless residents occupy temporary housing provided by FEMA has sparked outrage in this central Alabama town of 2,000, with angry citizens filling a meeting last week and circulating petitions to remove the man many blame for the decision, Mayor Jack Scott. > > Ruston and many others view the city’s decision as heartless, a sign that leaders don’t care that some people are barely surviving in the rubble of a blue-collar town. > > “People have to live somewhere. What’s it matter if it’s in a trailer?” asked Felicia Boston, standing on the debris-strewn lot where a friend has lived in a tent since a tornado destroyed his home on April 27. > > Scott has heard all the complaints, and he isn’t apologizing. He said he doesn’t want run-down mobile homes parked all over town years from now. > > “I don’t feel guilty,” he said. “I can look anyone in the eye.” > [@](#): > > But the city enacted a law three years ago that bans the type of mobile homes provided by FEMA, called single-wide trailers. Older single-wide mobile homes were grandfathered in under the law and double-wide mobile homes are still allowed, Scott said, but new single-wides aren’t allowed **and a tornado isn’t any reason to change the law, even temporarily**. Bolding mine. Yeah, I would never let a disaster change anything. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/2 "2011-05-31T02:12:27Z")
However ironically, though, aren’t those mobile homes highly dangerous in a tornado? ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/3 "2011-05-31T02:34:55Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > However ironically, though, aren’t those mobile homes highly dangerous in a tornado? Probably; but I think the risk of the possibility of another destructive tornado assailing the town has less weight than the fact that people are homeless. I’m sure they’re willing to assume that risk. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/4 "2011-05-31T14:05:42Z")
Yeah, we don’t want no grubby single wide mobile homes making our little southern town look all redneck and whatnot. Only the dee-lux double wides are good enough around these here parts. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/5 "2011-05-31T15:43:46Z")
So, is dude trying to not get reelected? 'Cus he could probably just quit if he hates his job so much. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/6 "2011-05-31T15:53:57Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > However ironically, though, aren’t those mobile homes highly dangerous in a tornado? Less dangerous than a tent. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/7 "2011-05-31T16:29:35Z")
My first reaction on hearing about this was wondering how the mayor would feel about this if his home had been one of the ones destroyed and he had no other place to live. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/8 "2011-05-31T16:41:31Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > So, is dude trying to not get reelected? 'Cus he could probably just quit if he hates his job so much. Nah. The homeless will either die from being homeless or move away. Problem solved! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/9 "2011-05-31T17:59:26Z")
Couldn’t this douche bag just make an exemption with a 2yr limit on it, thereby solving both problems? The law against single wides stands, any put in by FEMA would be gone inside of 2yrs, and, y’know, people, now homeless, (who’s lives have been tragically devastated), would have a place to stay till they get sorted. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/10 "2011-05-31T18:38:04Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Couldn’t this douche bag just make an exemption with a 2yr limit on it, thereby solving both problems? > > The law against single wides stands, any put in by FEMA would be gone inside of 2yrs, and, y’know, people, now homeless, (who’s lives have been tragically devastated), would have a place to stay till they get sorted. Common sense solutions have no place in politics! ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/11 "2011-05-31T19:33:31Z")
Is FEMA really subject to local zoning laws in a disaster area? I’d imagine there’d be a federal law that kept them from having to deal with every minor local politician, especially for setting up temporary structures. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/12 "2011-05-31T19:35:59Z")
FEMA isn’t, but residents are. The city can’t do anything to FEMA, but it can fine residents for violating zoning ordinances by allowing FEMA to place trailers on their property or leaseholds. Well, maybe. I imagine the city’s attorney will nip this in the bud, unless perhaps he blew away. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-jack-scott-of-cordova-al-you-are-a-poopyhead/583801/13 "2011-05-31T20:41:43Z")
[According to this story](http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/16912), the Cordova Police, and the City hall, and a bank and a pharmacy have all been allowed to use FEMA trailers. This seems to cry out for 2nd amendment remedies. 😛