Awaiting Appointment
Though the mayor's Office of GLBT Affairs is in need of a director, it's too soon for concern
While some appointments have been named by Mayor Vincent Gray’s new administration, there is no official word as yet regarding who might take over as director of the Office of GLBT Affairs.
In a sense, that’s no different than the last transition in 2007 when Adrian Fenty won the top stop as Mayor Anthony Williams stepped down. Under Williams, Darlene Nipper was the outgoing director, her resignation effective mid-February of that year, with Christopher Dyer named immediately as Fenty’s interim director of that office. Dyer’s position was made permanent the following September.
While September is still two seasons away – meaning Gray has a huge window before falling behind Fenty’s pace – Dyer has already left his post. So the post sits without a director, interim or permanent, until Gray appoints someone.
Still, local activists aren’t raising any fears about the vacancy.
”It’s the first full week of the administration. There’s a little time,” said Jeffrey Richardson, president of the local Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the District’s primary partisan LGBT organization, and also considered a leading candidate for the post. ”We trust and hope the administration is moving forward. The community looks forward to having someone named and I expect the administration is doing due diligence.”
Lane Hudson, another prominent activist and a Gray supporter during the mayoral campaign, underscores the abundance of patience among local LGBT politicos, saying, ”I’m not concerned. They’ve been proactive about reaching out to folks, asking them if there are things [the administration] needs to be aware of. I know they reached out to me.”
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