Outgoing Mayor Anthony Williams is moving forward with multiple nominations to influential city commissions, even recommending a member of his administration for a key post, but the appointments are unlikely to go anywhere.
Williams’ director of communications, Vincent Morris, told The Examiner Oct. 5 that Williams had “agreed to hold off on most of the significant appointments as a gesture of courtesy toward the incoming mayor.” Democratic mayoral nominee Adrian Fenty’s camp had requested the break, which would allow the presumptive chief executive to name his own picks after inauguration.
But this week, Williams nominated four individuals to the D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission board of directors — the organization overseeing construction of the new Southeast ballpark. It also manages RFK Stadium and the D.C. Armory.
And Morris is one of the nominees.
“I am honored by the mayor’s confidence,” Morris said in an e-mail. “My goal as a member of the commission would be to represent the voices of other District families with young children who value sports andrecreation. I also live in the same neighborhood as the ballpark and would hope to help ensure that the stadium is always considerate of local communities.”
If approved, Morris would join the commission’s 11-member board for a four-year term. A former reporter with the New York Post and Washington Times, Morris joined the Williams administration last year. He said his time with the mayor “has given me valuable insight into the baseball debate.”
Williams also nominated Neil Albert, one of his former deputy mayors, to the commission. Mark Tuohey, the commission’s chairman, was nominated for reappointment, as was Lloyd Jordan.
But sources say the D.C. Council committee with oversight of the sports commission won’t even hold a hearing on the nominations — out of respect for Fenty — so it’s dead from the start.
Williams also nominated Lynne Breaux, executive director of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, for a slot on the D.C. Taxicab Commission, which will decide in the coming months whether to move from zone fares to meters.
