DCWatch
1327 Girard Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009-4915
202-234-6982, fax 202-232-1215
For immediate release: August 7, 1998, 3:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Dorothy A. Brizill
Giving Reform a Bad Name
Control Board Approves of Bad Nomination and Contract Cronyism
Today, the Control Board (the DC Financial Responsibility and Management
Assistance Authority) approved the nomination of Lloyd Jordan, former chief of staff to
Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr., of St. Louis, as director of the DC Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Jordans nomination continues the sorry history of
appointments made by Mayor Marion Barry, Jr., during his four terms as Mayor, and is
indeed worse than most of them.
Members of the Control Board were fully aware of Mr. Jordans lack of experience
and poor record, as detailed in the attached article, and apparently decided to continue
DCRAs long history of incompetence, mismanagement, favoritism, and corruption.
Also yesterday, Control Board Chairman Andrew Brimmer announced that Chief Management
Officer Camille Cates Barnett did nothing wrong when she awarded a non-competitive,
sole-source, $893,416 contract to a friend and did not submit the contract to the Control
Board for its required approval. The Control Boards lack of action suggests that its
appointees can engage in illegal contract practices and cronyism with its approval, and
that the only punishment will be the canceling of the contract if it is accidentally
discovered by the press.
Not only has the Control Board failed miserably to bring better services to
District residents, said Dorothy Brizill, the executive director of DCWatch, a good
government watchdog organization in the District. It has also failed to raise the
ethical standards that we should expect of government employees. The Control Board,
created to reform the Districts government, is giving reform a bad
name.
District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority
Washington, D.C.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 7, 1998
Statement of the Chairman, Dr. Andrew F. Brimmer
CONTACT: Jim Davison
202/504-3435
Good afternoon. Today the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management
Assistance Authority meets to appoint two new Directors for critical agencies of the
District Government. With the resignations of the Director of the Department of Consumer
and Regulatory Affairs, and the Director of Employment Services, it is incumbent on this
Authority to replace them as quickly as possible.
In accordance with the 1997 National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government
Improvement Act, the Mayor must nominate, in consultation with the Authority and the
Council, heads of departments of the government of the District of Columbia. In addition,
the nomination shall be effective, subject to the approval by a majority vote of the
Authority.
We consider these appointments today after the process for naming Department Heads has
correctly run its course. The Mayor has selected a nominee for each vacant position, and
the nominees have been considered by the City Council. Having reviewed their
recommendations, the Authority is today approving the nominations, and appointing Mr.
Lloyd J. Jordan to be head of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; and Mr.
Gregory Irish, to be head of the Department of Employment Services.
Mr. Jordan is a dedicated public servant, with professional experience in positions
such as Chief of Staff and Chief Administrative Officer for the City of St. Louis, as a
directing and managing attorney for CNA Insurance Companies in Chicago, and as the City
Attorney in Kinloch, Missouri. He is a creative and thorough manager with expertise in
legal affairs, economic development, labor relations, financial management and budget
analysis, and strategic planning.
He takes over an agency that has suffered from deficiencies that are
having a negative impact on the Districts image. Mr. Jordan, working closely with
the Authority, and the Chief Management Officer, will be responsible for overhauling the
agency, rectifying these problems, and changing the perceptions of the citizens about one
of their most critical agencies.
Utilizing the management reform process already in progress, Mr. Jordan
must build a new DCRA, one that is a model of effectiveness, through improvements in
strategic management, performance measurement, organizational structure, human resources
management, information technology improvements, and better financial management and
administrative practices.
Mr. Irish comes to the District of Columbia from the County of Santa Cruz, California,
where he most recently was the Director of Employment and Training. He has also been
employed as the Director of Human Services for the County of Santa Barbara, owned his own
public affairs consulting firm, and worked at the City Council for the City of Los
Angeles.
He takes charge of an agency that is not serving the citizens of the
District as well as it should. The Department he takes charge of, Employment Services has
one of the most vital rolls in the revitalization of the District. As Director, Mr. Irish
will oversee the eight management reform projects identified by the Authority in 1997,
which are currently in progress. Of the eight projects, three are scheduled for full
implementation in early Fall 1998. The three projects are: (1) the one stop
shop to assist those unemployed in locating work; (2) the Workforce Investment Board
which replaces three existing bodies (e.g.,) the Private Industry Council, the
Apprenticeship Council, and the State Job Training Coordinating Council; and (3) welfare
reform.
Let me now ask my colleagues whether they have any comments. |