Re-elect Mayor Adrian Fenty campaign workers who were hired by the administration after the mayor lost in the Democratic primary won’t get paid any severance if the D.C. Council passes an emergency bill. Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh says she is planning to introduce the bill on Tuesday. If it passes, political appointees hired within the past 180 days won’t earn any severance when they likely lose jobs as the city transitions to the Vince Gray administration after Jan. 2.
About a half-dozen Fenty campaign staffers were hired by the administration in the weeks after the mayor’s re-election bid failed in September, The Washington Examiner has confirmed. At least one, Josh Lopez, left quickly to help run the failed Fenty write-in campaign.
But others have stayed on, including Fenty campaign spokeswoman Helen Hare whose annual salary jumped from $45,000 when she started with the administration to $70,000 when she returned after the campaign.
Under District law, political appointees who work for less than a year can earn up to four weeks in severance pay when they leave. That means some political appointees who have worked for the city for less than three months could receive up to $6,000 in severance.
Fenty administration spokesman Sean Madigan told The Examiner that the mayor’s tiered system would only allow for up to one week of severance pay for the political appointees who have worked for fewer than 180 days. He added that anyone who is fired by the city is guaranteed one week’s severance under District human resources regulations.
Cheh was often an outspoken Fenty opponent and she endorsed Gray in the primary. The resolution introducing the bill, which was drafted by Cheh’s staff, says the bill is about finances.
“The District government is facing a $180 million budget. To maintain a balanced budget, the District is cutting programs and services and is firing employees,” the resolution says. “Enacting this legislation now is necessary to preserve the District’s financial resources.”
Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi has not yet provided an assessment of how much cash the bill would save and it might be difficult to determine because much of the severance is left to the mayor’s legally limited discretion.
