Who's the Boss? Nickles?

Does Peter Nickles want to be the District's full-time attorney general?

That question has been buzzing around since Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) named him interim attorney general in December, after Linda Singer resigned.

At the time, Fenty said Nickles, formerly the mayor's general counsel, would not seek the permanent job, in part because he lives in Great Falls. Cabinet members must live in the District.

But when Nickles appeared Monday before the D.C. Council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, he said he would consider accepting the position if Fenty asked him. If nominated, he pledged to move to the city.

"If the mayor decides I can do the job effectively, I will satisfy the residency," Nickles told the committee.

After the hearing, committee Chairman Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), one of Fenty's chief critics on the council, said there's no way he'd cast a vote to confirm Nickles. Mendelson has been critical of Nickles, saying he overstepped his authority as general counsel and made several unwise policy recommendations to the mayor, such as Fenty's short-lived decision to purge government e-mails.

"Too many mistakes, errors of judgment," Mendelson said. "He doesn't understand the separation of the attorney general from the political dimension of the government."

Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) was also critical.

Cheh was not pleased that Nickles had tangled with Singer, ordering her to stop working on several potentially high-profile cases, including the October death of a pedestrian hit by a police car in her ward. Nickles said Fenty made the final decision, after a brief conversation with him, for Singer's office not to pursue an independent investigation.

"When he was serving as general counsel, I'm not convinced that he went to the mayor," Cheh said. "He was the shadow attorney general. I want the attorney general to play the role of attorney general. That's what I want."

George Clark, president of the Federation of Citizens Associations, said some think Nickles already wields too much authority in the mayor's office.

"People are saying that Nickles is so powerful that he really is the boss," said Clark, whose group represents 50 neighborhood organizations across the city. "Is Mr. Nickles really acting as our mayor?"