By Mark Ballard
The Advocate

BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal on Wednesday tapped a deputy chief at the Los Angeles County Fire Department to lead Louisiana's emergency preparedness office.

He chose Mark Cooper, one of seven deputy fire chiefs in the nation's second largest fire department, as the director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Cooper would be Jindal's top adviser on hurricane evacuations and responses to possible terrorist threats.

Cooper, 44, would replace acting director Jeff Smith of Gonzales. The pay, though it has not been determined, could end up being lower than what Cooper said he is making now.

"It's not going to be a pay increase," said Cooper, who grew up in Bossier City and graduated from Parkway High School there.

He received his bachelor's degree in finance and a master's degree in public administration, both at LSU.

Cooper said he had been seriously thinking about returning to Louisiana since leading a group of L.A. firefighters to New Orleans to help in rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

He was part of a team that helped re-establish local government operations, according to a fire department statement released at the time.

"I've always felt the tug to come back," Cooper said Wednesday.

Cooper said he read a column in The Wall Street Journal by a Louisiana ex-patriot, now living in Dallas, who discussed the possibility of returning because Jindal was elected.

"I said maybe now is the time," Cooper said, and he applied for a job with Jindal.

Cooper said he was interviewed last week in Baton Rouge by Jindal.

Cooper is married and has three children aged five years to 10 years old.

The office was reorganized following the aftermath of the 2005 hurricanes. Its director, who once was an assistant in the state department of the military, now reports directly to the governor.

"I know a lot of forward progress has recently been made," said Cooper, adding that he wanted a chance to learn the agency and spend time with its employees before determining what changes will be necessary.

He expects to start work on Jan. 15. His first order of business will be to review the state's hurricane preparedness plans, Cooper said.

A deputy fire chief since 2003, Cooper headed the fire department's Administrative Bureau. He said he developed emergency plans and programs to coordinate the department's role in the county's Emergency Operations Center. His name appears frequently on the agendas for Los Angeles City Council meetings where he discussed the fire department's budget.

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