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CNN Live Today

Interview With Frank Mecham

Aired December 23, 2003 - 11:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, it's just a little town. Paso Robles is just a city of 26,000 people on the central coast of California, about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The area is home to vineyards and hot springs making it a wonderful destination for tourists.
Well we have the pleasure of speaking with the mayor of that community. Mayor Frank Mecham joins us to talk more about his town and the set back that it suffered.

Mayor, our hearts go out you. I covered the San Francisco Earthquake and the Northridge Quake. I know the kind of damage that you're dealing with. Can you give us an update on how people are holding up and what you hope to say to Governor Schwarzenegger today?

MAYOR FRANK MECHAM, PASO ROBLES, CALIF.: Well we've had an incredible outpouring from the community and others around the area that have offered their volunteer assistance to help with anything we need. We have a tremendous mutual aid agreement with all the other folks. And the agencies are here helping us out.

As you were just told, we're going to be assessing the buildings. We have a lot of engineers that have volunteered their time to assess the building so we can see the actual magnitude of what we're confronted with.

LIN: What do you need from the governor?

MECHAM: I understand he'll be here shortly. I expect to meet with him sometime between 9:00, 9:30 this morning and looking forward to talking to him.

LIN: Do you need federal assistance? Are there folks out there who are going to need low-interest loans? Maybe even some grants to rebuild?

MECHAM: Absolutely. I was in touch with Congressman Thomas' office. His representatives are here as well to assist in any way they can. So we'll be looking for help anywhere we can get it.

LIN: The two women who died when that building collapsed, one was in her 50s, one just 19-years-old. Can you tell us a little bit about who they are and if you've had a chance to talk with their families?

MECHAM: I do not know the two ladies. I did get a brief opportunity to go over and try to comfort the family. And it was very difficult for them as you would well imagine. And I hope to contact them again before too long.

LIN: The nature of Paso Robles. Do you think of yourself as living in earthquake country? Is this something that you've had to consider in the past?

MECHAM: Absolutely. This isn't a question of if. We always felt it was a question of when. And we've been in preparation for things of this magnitude for a long time. We have our emergency operation plans in effect, and so we were well prepared, as well as you can be for something of this magnitude.

But the devastation that I have been seeing down town was something I wasn't prepared for.

LIN: So what do you think is going to happen to this town? I mean, how is this quake going to change the nature of Paso Robles, how it might look, how it might prepare for the next quake down the road?

MECHAM: Well, we'll be doing further assessments of what we wanted to do to prepare for the next time. But I can tell you this community will come back. It always has. The community always comes together in times of need. We will be back. And we will rebuild.

LIN: Well, in the face of this tragedy and the tough times ahead, it's good to hear that there's strength in the holiday spirit there. Thank you very much, Frank Mecham, mayor of Paso Robles.

MECHAM: Thank you. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 23, 2003 - 11:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, it's just a little town. Paso Robles is just a city of 26,000 people on the central coast of California, about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The area is home to vineyards and hot springs making it a wonderful destination for tourists.
Well we have the pleasure of speaking with the mayor of that community. Mayor Frank Mecham joins us to talk more about his town and the set back that it suffered.

Mayor, our hearts go out you. I covered the San Francisco Earthquake and the Northridge Quake. I know the kind of damage that you're dealing with. Can you give us an update on how people are holding up and what you hope to say to Governor Schwarzenegger today?

MAYOR FRANK MECHAM, PASO ROBLES, CALIF.: Well we've had an incredible outpouring from the community and others around the area that have offered their volunteer assistance to help with anything we need. We have a tremendous mutual aid agreement with all the other folks. And the agencies are here helping us out.

As you were just told, we're going to be assessing the buildings. We have a lot of engineers that have volunteered their time to assess the building so we can see the actual magnitude of what we're confronted with.

LIN: What do you need from the governor?

MECHAM: I understand he'll be here shortly. I expect to meet with him sometime between 9:00, 9:30 this morning and looking forward to talking to him.

LIN: Do you need federal assistance? Are there folks out there who are going to need low-interest loans? Maybe even some grants to rebuild?

MECHAM: Absolutely. I was in touch with Congressman Thomas' office. His representatives are here as well to assist in any way they can. So we'll be looking for help anywhere we can get it.

LIN: The two women who died when that building collapsed, one was in her 50s, one just 19-years-old. Can you tell us a little bit about who they are and if you've had a chance to talk with their families?

MECHAM: I do not know the two ladies. I did get a brief opportunity to go over and try to comfort the family. And it was very difficult for them as you would well imagine. And I hope to contact them again before too long.

LIN: The nature of Paso Robles. Do you think of yourself as living in earthquake country? Is this something that you've had to consider in the past?

MECHAM: Absolutely. This isn't a question of if. We always felt it was a question of when. And we've been in preparation for things of this magnitude for a long time. We have our emergency operation plans in effect, and so we were well prepared, as well as you can be for something of this magnitude.

But the devastation that I have been seeing down town was something I wasn't prepared for.

LIN: So what do you think is going to happen to this town? I mean, how is this quake going to change the nature of Paso Robles, how it might look, how it might prepare for the next quake down the road?

MECHAM: Well, we'll be doing further assessments of what we wanted to do to prepare for the next time. But I can tell you this community will come back. It always has. The community always comes together in times of need. We will be back. And we will rebuild.

LIN: Well, in the face of this tragedy and the tough times ahead, it's good to hear that there's strength in the holiday spirit there. Thank you very much, Frank Mecham, mayor of Paso Robles.

MECHAM: Thank you. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com