More fallout on Fenty Appointment

DC Government sources tell me that several members of the DC Council are not yet ready to forgive Mayor Adrian Fenty for the way he fired school Superintendent Clifford Janey and selected his replacement Michelle Rhee last week.
One Council source says that Chairman Vincent Gray was so upset with the Mayor that he was threatening to hold up the confirmation hearing for Rhee. The move wouldn't affect her ability to run the schools; As acting Chancellor, pending Confirmation, she can run the school system and concentrate on the opening of classes in late August. That authority is good for six months. Holding up her confirmation would send a signal to Fenty that this Council is not to be taken for granted according to one source.

According to others in the know Fenty called Janey late Monday night of last week to inform him that he was out and Rhee was in... effective the following morning. The sources say Janey was told not to report to his office, that his government email and cell phone accounts had been closed. Said one Councilmember "This was no way to treat Janey. He may have been slow at making decisions but he was a good man with good credibility as a Superintendent". Janey has been unavailable since his firing. He reportedly has hired an attorney to deal with the Fenty administration regarding his severance and other legal matters.


Adding to the DC Council's anger is Fenty's decision to go to the Washington Post, first with the selection of Rhee, before informing the Council Chairman and a panel that included parents, as required by law. Stay tuned, the new Mayor has a lot of fence mending to do on this one...