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In a Close Vote, D.C. Council Confirms Nickles as Attorney General
D.C. Council members praised Peter Nickles, who was acting attorney general, as qualified but raised concerns about his management style and ties to the mayor.
(Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)
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The opposing council members had tried to sway their colleagues.
Mendelson said his rejection of Nickles came down to the issues of "conflation and judgment." Nickles's predecessors acted independently of the mayor, Mendelson said, and in terms of judgment, he has been one of the lead agents for the mayor to fire city workers. "Mr. Nickles is a great general counsel to the mayor, but he should not be attorney general," he said.
Barry, a former mayor, recalled that when he first led the city, he created a general counsel to avoid a conflict of interest with the attorney general, then known as the corporation counsel. "What bothers me is that the line between policy and legal representation has been greatly blurred," he said.
Cheh said Nickles is not only fiercely loyal to the mayor, he is unwilling to listen to both sides and does not reside in the District. "Would the people of the state of Virginia accept an attorney general who lived in Maryland?"
In defense of Nickles, Catania, said: "Is he perfect? No. Has he become his own worst enemy? Yes. But to suggest that this man is not qualified is absurd."
Schwartz urged her colleagues to look at changing city law, which she said has no guidance on how independent the attorney general should be from the mayor.
An appointed attorney general is unusual, according to the National Association of Attorneys General. Forty-three states elect attorneys general. The District's system of the attorney general being a mayoral appointee falls in line with Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Wyoming, where the governor appoints the attorney general. After the vote, Schwartz said: "I would rather have him on our side than against us. He is an effective and aggressive advocate, but he has to be the lawyer for all of us and not just the mayor."
In other business, the council passed preliminary legislation to stabilize the funding level for the city's program for first-time home buyers by making sure that at least $50 million is available. In addition to passing the Housing Production Trust Fund Stabilization Amendment Act, the council passed the Housing Regulation Amendment Act, which insulates the city's rent administrator from being fired by the mayor.
"If it were not for the HPAP program, I would not be in my house today," Thomas said.
Even though the council passed the housing bills introduced by Barry, Gray said the money might not always be there. "We need to recognize that we are going to have to make some difficult choices," he said.
