Independent voices from the TWT Communities
An arbitrator's ruling that D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe unlawfully retaliated against the president of the city firefighters union is "sobering" and "not good for the department," D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said Wednesday.
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray has been in office just 2½ months, but his administration already is reeling under allegations that cash payoffs were made during his campaign and that he doled out high-paying city jobs to political friends who were either underqualified or had undisclosed criminal pasts.
"He's the coach, and the penalty has been called," Mr. Lynch said. "He's got to do something."
"It hurts public confidence when arbitrators make these type of findings," said Terry Lynch, an activist who heads the Downtown Cluster of Congregations. "I think the mayor and his team, they all need to step back, take a deep breath and just be fully engaged in civic services. It's possible we need a change at the top of some of these agencies."
