Ward 3 D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh says she must schedule a fourth hearing on hiring practices by the Vince Gray administration because two key witnesses have dodged council subpoenas.
Cheh’s council committee has been reviewing high salaries and the decisions to hire the children of some top Gray administration officials. The third hearing on the subject is scheduled for Friday.
Cheh issued subpoenas for every witness, but Sulaimon Brown and Cherita Whiting have not been served, she said in a Tuesday memo to committee members.
“Capitol Process Servers has reported that Sulaimon Brown and Cherita Whiting appear to be intentionally avoiding service,” the memo said. Council rules require subpoenas be given to recipients five days before a hearing. She has scheduled a fourth hearing for May 13.
Brown has accused Gray of offering him a job so Brown would stay on the campaign trail and continue his attacks on then-Mayor Adrian Fenty. One-month after Gray was sworn in, Brown got a $110,000-a-year job in Gray’s administration. Brown was fired a month after landing the job.
Whiting was also hired by the Gray administration despite a felony conviction on her record, which she did not report.
