More than a month into his term as Montgomery County executive, Ike Leggett still has seven crucial department head appointments to make.
Some say his task is harder because Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is filling top-level Cabinet appointments at the same time.
Still left for Leggett to find are people to chair the following county departments: Housing and Community Affairs, Permit Services, Management and Budget, Procurement, the County Attorney’s Office, Environmental Protection and Health and Human Services.
Leggett spokesman Patrick Lacefield said the main holdup is that each position requires a background check, which adds time to the process.
“We’re still working through applications,” Lacefield said. “We have some we’re very interested in … but there are certain dance steps we have to go through.”
He wouldn’t say whether a number of the contenders also are being considered by O’Malley’s administration, but noted that it “could likely be a mix of new and old people.”
So far, the county executive has announced a dozen other department heads.
The first nine — Fire and Rescue, Homeland Security, Human Resources, Intergovernmental Affairs, Liquor Control; Police; Public Libraries, Public Works, and Public Affairs — were named together in a news conference.
All but the Public Affairs chief, Lacefield, are holdovers from the previous administration who retained their leadership posts.
Leggett announced the other three appointments — Recreation, Finance and Economic Development — about two weeks ago; they are all new faces to Montgomery County government and still must be confirmed by the County Council.
O’Malley has so far announced these Cabinet heads: Transportation, Environment, Budget and Management, Chief Legal Counsel, Policy Legislation Adviser, Appointments and Health and Mental Hygiene.
