D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti said he’ll resign in two weeks to make way for the new mayor’s own choice for the District’s chief legal position.
Spagnoletti, the District’s first attorney general, is the latest of a string of top officials to walk out the door of District government with Mayor Anthony Williams’ retirement.
Spagnoletti said he decided to leave several months ago and had not talked to presumptive next mayor Adrian Fenty about the job until Wednesday. Spagnoletti said he recommended his chief deputy,Eugene Adams, to be his replacement. Spagnoletti and Fenty will meet in several weeks to talk about the transition of the new administration.
“The next mayor needs to be able choose his own attorney general for his vision for the District,” Spagnoletti said. “And it was a good time for me to make professional and personal changes.”
He will take a job as partner at the D.C. law firm of Schertler & Onorato.
Spagnoletti, 43, became the District’s chief legal officer in 2003 when he was named to head the Office of the Corporation Counsel, the name of the agency before it was changed to the Office of the Attorney General to reflect its state-like responsibilities.
Within its scope of responsibilities and a budget of $83 million, the D.C. attorney general office is the ninth- or 10th-largest attorney general office in the country. The office is charged with representing the District in any lawsuits involving the city. It also prosecutes juvenile crime, traffic and adult misdemeanors.
Spagnoletti was credited with making a bloated and poorly managed agency more professional and raising the pay and caliber of employees.
He said he’s most proud of helping to reduce crime, recovering a record-breaking $160 million in child support and providing advice to help bring professional baseball back to Washington.
Spagnoletti’s last day will be Oct. 13.
— Examiner columnist Jonetta Rose Barras contributed to this report.
