Mary Leary, City Administrator Robert Bobb’s former chief labor negotiator, resigned her position earlier this year for a job at the University of Minnesota, just as tense negotiations with unions representing 13,000 District employees were coming to a head.
At the negotiating table, Natasha Campbell, Leary’s backup, stepped in. And within three months, the city and its unions reached a deal described by all involved as a win-win.
Campbell “jumped aboard a fast-moving train and got us home safely,” Geo Johnson, the union’s chief negotiator, said earlier this month when the package was unveiled. “Natasha, we look forward to working with you on this important leg of your blossoming career.”
With Mayor Anthony Williams in the final six months on the job, similar baptisms by fire are bound to emerge. Williams announced he would not seek a third term last September, sending many of his executive branch employees into job search mode.
And the staffers who stayed are jockeying for positions and their futures, Bobb said.
“Call out the reserves,” he said. “The organization continues to move forward aggressively on a number of fronts.”
Leary is one of several top executive staffers to leave the city in the past nine months. Williams lost his chief legislative aide, his director of transportation, director of mental health, one deputy mayor and two speech writers.
Sharon Gang, Williams’ spokeswoman, said the turnover is inevitable, but even as Williams’ time runs out, there is still much to do and plenty of people who want the responsibility.
“There will be no drop off in service,” she said.
Council Member Adrian Fenty said he’s seen evidence of the turnover as chairman of the human services committee. The pressure, he said, lands on those who stay.
“You’ve got to work twice as hard,” Fenty said, “because you can’t have any excuses.”
