The son of a Mayor Vince Gray appointee who landed a position in the administration says he was pushed to resign by D.C. Fire Chief Ken Ellerbe on the promise he would get a job in the private sector.
During a D.C. Council hearing Thursday on salaries and hiring decisions by the Gray administration, Brandon Webb said Ellerbe and D.C fire department communications director Lon Walls pushed him to resign before a story was published in the media raising questions about how he got his job. Webb’s mother, Rochelle, was appointed by Gray to head the department of employment services. She was fired last week.
Webb said he applied for three jobs in the D.C. government last fall, but didn’t land his position as a fire department community liaison with a $65,000 annual salary until his mother contacted the human resources director. He was hired within three days, he said.
In early March, Webb said Ellerbe and Walls contacted him about his future as media reports were outing the children of other Gray appointess who landed jobs in the administration. On March 11, Webb said Ellerbe called Webb into his office and said Webb should resign because a story was coming out on him.
“[Ellerbe] said he didn’t want my name dragged through the mud,” Webb said, adding that Ellerbe promised him help getting a job in the private sector. The job, though, never materialized. Webb said he was “misled.”
When asked whether Ellerbe and Wall protected him, Webb said, “no they did not, because I’m here now.”
