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NEWS: Dec. 20, 2016
Transit Union Foregoes Wage Hike to Protect Jobs from Privatization The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its largest union, which gave up a wage hike next summer in order to help protect thousands of jobs from being privatized, announced agreement on a four-year, $1.5 billion contract that MBTA officials said would save about $81 million over four years. But officials said the deal still gives the MBTA a green light to privatize several parts of its system, from bus maintenance to staffing expanded service. >> Boston Globe, Boston Herald Senators Seek Civil-Service Probe of Trump Team Several Democratic senators are asking for an independent investigation into President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, alleging it may have violated civil-service laws with its probe into the climate-change activities of Energy Department employees. >> Government Executive Elections | The Nation Record Set for 'Faithless Electors' The seven so-called "faithless" votes cast by members of the Electoral College on Monday represent a historic breach between electors and the candidates they were expected to vote for. The number of electors voting for someone other than their party's nominee was the most ever cast in a single presidential election. >> Politico California Electors Call for Probe of Russian Meddling After California's 55 electors cast their votes for Hillary Clinton,they passed a resolution urging a public investigation into Russian interference and "possible collusion" with Donald Trump operatives. >> Sacramento Bee
Trump Taps Sports Team Owner and West Point Grad to Lead Army President-elect Donald Trump has nominated as his Army secretary Vincent Viola, an Army veteran who became a billionaire after founding an electronic trading firm and went on to buy the Florida Panthers hockey team. Viola, a 1977 graduate of West Point and former infantry officer, funded the creation of the military academy's highly regarded Combating Terrorism Center. >> Washington Post N.J. Lawmakers Kill Governor's Book Deal, Pay-Raise Plan Rank-and-file New Jersey lawmakers from both parties killed a controversial bill that would have allowed Gov. Chris Christie to cash in on a book-publishing deal while in office and give hefty raises to his Cabinet officers, judges and legislative aides. >> The Record of Bergen County D.C. Mayoral Aide to Head Child Agency for 3rd Time Brenda Donald, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel E. Bowser's top aide on health-care issues, is returning to the city's Child and Family Services Agency for a third stint leading the long-scrutinized department that investigates child abuse and manages foster care. >> Washington Post Ex-Illinois Comptroller Threatens to Sue Successor Former Illinois comptroller Leslie Munger defended herself against radio interview claims by her successor, Susana Mendoza, that she left behind offices that appeared "looted" and vowed to sue Mendoza personally if she continues to "damage" Munger's image. >> Chicago Sun-Times
Labor Dept. Senior Exec to Head NAPA Four months after its president announced his retirement, the National Academy of Public Administration has selected a new leader. The better-governance nonprofit tapped Department of Labor senior executive Terry Gerton to succeed Dan Blair as president and CEO. Gerton currently serves as deputy assistant secretary of policy for veterans' employment and training services at DoL and has 20 years of military service. >> Federal Times Most Federal Execs to Experience Their 1st Transition Sixty-eight percent of the federal government's top career corps will experience their first presidential transition in January as senior executives, according to Office of Personnel Management data. >> Government Executive Law Enforcement | New Orleans City Settles Post-Katrina Police-Violence Cases Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced that the city has reached settlements totaling $13.3 million with 17 plaintiffs in lawsuits over deadly police shootings after Hurricane Katrina and a fatal beating just before the 2005 storm. He apologized to the victims' families and noted that as a result of the police violence the department is under the nation's most comprehensive federal consent decree. >> AP/Yahoo News, New Orleans Times-Picayune
UC Freshman Applications Set Record The University of California system received more than 171,000 freshman applications for fall 2017, marking a new record with gains across all racial and ethnic groups. The applicants included more than 111,600 California high school seniors, a 6 percent rise over last year. The top campus choice was UCLA, followed by the San Diego, Irvine, Berkeley and Santa Barbara campuses. >> Los Angeles Times >> Follow GovManagement on Twitter >> Share this edition:
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“This is something I worked for a long time, and it finally hit me last night when I didn't have to go home and take tests or a quiz.” Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who soon will become the state's first woman governor when incumbent Terry Branstad leaves the office to become ambassador to China and who was among more than 2,000 Iowa State University students at Saturday's fall commencement ceremony as she received her first postsecondary degree, a bachelor's in liberal studies with concentrations in political science, business management and communication >> Des Moines Register | More quotes VIEWPOINT The Presidency | John J. Hamre The Political Appointees We Don't Need If President-elect Donald Trump wants to dramatically improve the functioning of the federal government, here is one simple and straightforward thing he can do: Refrain from flooding the Cabinet departments with politically appointed deputy assistant secretaries. For decades, administrations have extended the ranks of political appointees to lower levels. Such appointees general have little standing with the secretary, especially when they are handpicked by the White House. But the bigger problem is this: Historically, deputy assistant secretary positions were the capstone for highly skilled and experienced civil servants. These men and women had deep expertise and knew how government worked. >> Washington Post PLUS: Joseph Gurney, Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson on how subcabinet political appointees can succeed in the Trump administration. >> Government Executive | More commentaries DATAPOINTS At least 86 Number of people brandishing ultra-real-looking pellet guns, toy weapons and non-functioning firearms replicas shot to death by police over the past two years, with law enforcement officials saying it is virtually impossible to train officers to identify imitation firearms from any distance and that, short of eliminating the them, police have little choice but to assume the guns are lethal >> Washington Post 327,753 Number of pistol transfers that, as of the end of September, has not been entered into a Washington state firearms database that is used by authorities for a variety of investigative purposes as State Department of Licensing officials seek $382,000 in the next state budget to hire a private data-entry firm to catch up >> Everett Herald | More data UPCOMING EVENTS Brookings Institution Discussion: "What Is at Stake for Civil Rights and Criminal Justice Reform?" Today, 12:30-2 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Lecture: "Can We Make Growth More Inclusive? A Trans-Atlantic Perspective" Today, 5-6:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Partnership for Public Service Training session: "Presidential Transition in a Digital Age" Dec. 21, 8 a.m.-noon ET, Washington, D.C. American Society for Public Administration BookTalk webinar: "America, the Owner's Manual: You Can Fight City Hall--and Win" Jan. 4, 1 p.m. ET American Enterprise Institute Book discussion: "Age of Discovery: Navigating the Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance" Jan. 9, noon-1 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. |
