Citing his allegiance to the executive branch and “questionable dedication to the rule of law,” a D.C. Council panel on Monday rejected the nomination of Peter Nickles as attorney general, spurring a vigorous lobbying campaign ahead of today’s full council vote.
The Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, chaired by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, backed a “disapproval resolution” on Nickles by a 3-2 tally. Under council rules, the nomination would have been automatically approved had the committee not acted to turn it down.
Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, a lawyer specializing in constitutional law, said she opposed Nickles’ nomination for “his lack of independence, legal temperament and questionable dedication to the rule of law.” Nickles has willfully ignored subpoenas, Cheh said, written flimsy legal opinions to validate Mayor Adrian Fenty’s positions and has shown a “marked insensitivity to civil liberties.”
“The principal loyalty of the attorney general is not owed to the executive branch,” Cheh said, “but to the people of the District of Columbia.”
Cheh, Mendelson and Ward 7 Councilwoman Yvette Alexander joined to reject Nickles. Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser and Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans offered Nickles their enthusiastic support, praising him for taking on neighborhood issues with gusto.
“I have found him to be quite good in representing the District of Columbia,” Evans said. “I’m tired of having a city that cannot defend itself. Peter Nickles brings to the attorney general’s office a professionalism that hasn’t been here before.”
Nickles, Fenty’s longtime family friend, has managed the District’s independent attorney general’s office since January. He joined the administration in 2007 as Fenty’s general counsel. All sides agree that his resume is exemplary.
But he has run afoul of the council numerous times.
His defense of the Trinidad police blockade raised questions about his commitment to civil liberties, according to Mendelson’s committee report.
His support for deleting city e-mails after six months was “ill-conceived,” and his involvement in personnel terminations is “a deterrent to labor and management cooperation,” the report added.
“The Administration is unequivocally confident in Peter Nickles’ ability and commitment to greatly serve the residents of the District of Columbia as the city’s attorney general,” Fenty’s office said in a statement. “While we respect the council’s process, we look forward to a swift approval resolution.”
