Nickles for Permanent AG?

[jsteele]

According to The Washington Post, Mayor Fenty intends to nominate Peter Nickles as the District's permanent attorney general. What do people think of this?

For my part, I find it discouraging that Fenty seems determined to model himself after George W. Bush. Just as Bush chose a long time associate -- Alberto Gonzales -- to be White House Counsel and then Attorney General, Fenty chose family friend Nickles to be his general counsel, then Acting-AG, and now permanent AG. Just as Gonzales was for Bush, Nickles seems most dedicated to ensuring that Fenty can act without regard to the voters or the DC Council (Congress in Gonzales case). Similarly, just as the US Congress was always ready to roll over for Bush, the Council seems to fold on demand for Fenty.

The law requires that the AG live in the District. Nickles has lived in Great Falls for 40 years. While he has worked in the Fenty Administration for over a year and a half, he has not bothered to move. I assume he will obtain an apartment someplace and call it home while maintaining his Great Falls residence. Again, flouting the law.

Nickles' history so far has not been spectacular. He fired the lead attorney on the gun ban case and completely rewrote the District's brief. We know how that turned out. He fired a bunch of attorneys from the AG's office, but failed to follow procedure and has had to hire a bunch back. The rest are in the process of winning a court suit against the District. He claimed that the police road blocks in Trinidad are constitutional, despite clear evidence that they are not. Now that issue is going to Court.

Didn't we learn our lessons from the Bush/Gonzales show? Do we really need to repeat that mistake in the District?

Linda Singer would not have been my choice for AG, but she surprised me with a number of her initiatives. She was an honorable person who did the honorable thing by resigning when she realized Nickles was running the show from the Mayor's office. As the saying goes, we don't appreciate what we have until its gone. I am really appreciating Singer these days.

[Anonymous]

Jeff. do you or anyone else know whether his prior positions in the administration required him to live in DC? Has he been "breaking" the law by not living here for the last year?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff. do you or anyone else know whether his prior positions in the administration required him to live in DC? Has he been "breaking" the law by not living here for the last year?

When Nickles was first appointed general counsel, he said he would comply with residency requirements. Then, as the deadline neared, he said he had been "too busy" to move. Finally, he said his position was exempt from residency requirements. The Council made some perfunctory noise and then rolled over.

I wouldn't be surprised if history repeats itself.

[Anonymous]

Jeff, I share your concerns. Nickles also seems to be a lightning rod for controversy and gets the Mayor involved in unnecessary political fights. Every time I've heard him on TV or radio he manages to sound condescending and arrogant, and he's ticked off a few judges by interjecting in hearings where he shouldn't have. Plus, he just doesn't seem to have very good judgment, which is vital in an AG or advisor to the Mayor. He fired those lawyers in the AG's office without going through the proper procedures, then made some inappropriate comments about wanting to have an office full of "young stars" then was smacked back when two DC Superior Court judges granted injunctions and halted the firings. Now he's had to settle with a couple of them and it just looks like he goes off half-cocked without thinking things through. I think he will be a disaster, and I also think Fenty will find it hard to rein him in because he's Daddy's longtime friend.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone who has actually worked closely with him (maybe at Covington) post and share your experiences. I am wondering what his personality is like.

[Anonymous]

And, about the attorneys he fired, doesn't it also bother you that after receiving at least satisfactory evaluations he deemed them poor performers.

[Anonymous]

I can't claim to have paid close attention to Nickles, but from the press coverage that I have seen, I have the impression that his management style and personality are best suited to a private partnership representing private clients. He doesn't seem to have the subtlety, insight or other skills necessary to lead/manage a civil service organization in matters that are going to be subject to considerable public scrutiny.

Put another way, you can be a smart arrogant asshole and be very successful as a big firm lawyer -- when your audience itself (fellow partners and corporate clients) is one that arguably is comprised of other smart, arrogant assholes. But the "smart arrogant accountable-to-no-one" skill set only carries you so far when you're operating in the public eye.

Fenty needs to recognize Nickles's limitations and use him accordingly, if at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you can be a smart arrogant asshole and be very successful as a big firm lawyer -- when your audience itself (fellow partners and corporate clients) is one that arguably is comprised of other smart, arrogant assholes. But the "smart arrogant accountable-to-no-one" skill set only carries you so far when you're operating in the public eye.

Actually, I think Nickles's personality has won him more fans within DC govt than he ever had at Covington. The arrogant and accountable-to-no-one attitude pervades DC politics. And I find it hard to characterize anyone who decided to appeal Heller as "smart." Brash, maybe.

[Anonymous]

Good points. Depressing in their implications for the city's govt., though.