Kellems quits as deputy mayor

The District’s deputy mayor for public safety and justice announced yesterday that she was resigning, adding to a growing list of senior positions in the Williams administration that are vacant or being filled on a temporary basis.

Margret Nedelkoff Kellems, whose responsibilities include oversight of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, the Department of Corrections and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, will leave officially June 6 after nearly four years on the job. She will pursue a job in the private sector.

No replacement was named.

Mrs. Kellems’ departure means that of four deputy mayors, only one is serving in a permanent capacity: Eric Price, deputy mayor for planning and economic development. Lori Parker, deputy mayor for children, youth, families and elders, is serving on an interim basis.

Herb Tillery, deputy mayor for operations, was named the interim director of the Department of Health when former Director James Buford was removed last month. City Administrator Robert C. Bobb has assumed Mr. Tillery’s former responsibilities.

The position of deputy mayor is not mandated by the city’s charter, but Mayor Anthony A. Williams said yesterday that the vacancies are no indication that he plans to do away with the posts.

“A lot of things aren’t provided explicitly in the D.C. charter. That doesn’t mean we don’t do them. We’re working with [Mr. Bobb] and the personnel division to refill these positions in a way that supports him in his mission and gives him the kind of team he needs to continue doing the job he’s doing,” Mr. Williams said at his weekly press briefing.

The deputy mayor positions aren’t the only ones that are filled temporarily.

Key departments in the administration that are being run by interim or acting agency heads include the Department of Public Works, the Office of the Inspector General, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Youth Services Administration, the Department of Personnel, the Office of Neighborhood Action, the Office of the Clean City Coordinator and the Department of Health. Acting or interim employees fill five other senior positions in that department.

In addition, Olivia Golden, the director of Child and Family Services, has announced her resignation. Her last day is tomorrow.

The superintendent of city schools and the head of the city libraries positions also are held by interim executives, but those agencies are independent of the mayor.

Mr. Williams filled one vacancy yesterday, when he announced that Barbara Childs-Pair, the acting director and former No. 2 at the D.C. Emergency Management Agency, would lead that department on a permanent basis upon approval from the D.C. Council.

That appointment was criticized because the former director, Peter LaPorte, announced his resignation in October.

“Why does it take six months to fill the position if you’re just going to fill it with the person who is next in line?” asked D.C. Council member Adrian M. Fenty, Ward 4 Democrat. “If we are going to hire from within, the vacancy shouldn’t last that long. If we’re going to have long delays, we might as well search the country. We’re getting the worst of both worlds.”

Mr. Fenty said the “culture of interims” destabilizes performance and creates uncertainty among prospective job applicants.

D.C. Council member Kathy Patterson said the unfilled positions were “not a huge concern.”

“I’m not aware of any agencies falling apart because they don’t have a current named director,” the Ward 3 Democrat said. “There is a way in which I think it’s good news for the District government that we have strong second-tier managers in our agencies.”

Dorothy Brizill, who runs the D.C. government watchdog Web site www.dcwatch.com, said the number of temporary agency heads in the government is “unacceptable” but not unusual.

“The Williams administration has had a poor track record filling vacancies,” she said, adding that appointing permanent agency heads doesn’t seem to be a priority.

“There doesn’t seem to be a strong impetus from the mayor to fill vacancies in a timely manner with the best people,” she said.