| Page 2 of 2 < |
Fenty to Name Nickles D.C. Attorney General
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Nickles recently hosted a retreat at his home for senior managers, some of whom saw it as a sign that he was trying to boost his reputation and build morale.
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), a frequent Fenty critic who chairs the Committee on Public Safety and Judiciary, said he has several concerns about Nickles. He cited the Fenty administration's decision, supported by Nickles, to authorize police checkpoints to keep some drivers out of Trinidad after a spate of shootings two weeks ago.
"The AG has to be the one who says to an executive to slow down because this is a constitutional question," Mendelson said. "That didn't seem to happen."
Kristopher Baumann, head of the D.C. lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he was initially impressed by Nickles but has soured on him over the past months after the checkpoints and the firing of the city lawyers. The fact that Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced a suspension of the checkpoints and that Nickles has reinstated three of the lawyers showed that the initiatives were misguided, he said.
"He's got to quit losing. He's getting crushed," Baumann said. "These are not complex areas of the law. It's been one embarrassing mistake after another."
Some council members and activists have complained that Nickles is too close to the mayor, which could compromise his decision-making as attorney general. However, as long as the mayor is authorized to appoint the attorney general, most council members said, it is difficult to expect the city's top lawyer to be completely independent.
Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) said that he shares some of the concerns about Nickles that others have raised but that he told the mayor he would support him.
"I respect that the mayor needs a level of discretion," Wells said.
