D.C. Mayor taps Valerie Santos as deputy mayor - Dayton Business Journal:

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Santos, as chief operating officer under has been closely involvedin decision-making on many of the real estatre deals Albert managed, including major city projects such as Poplare Point. Albert began his new job as city administratoeron Monday, replacing Dan who is taking a job in the Obama "In Ms. Santos, we not only have a stead y hand who knowsthe job, we have someone who is a consummatee professional who will bring private-sector talents to get the job Fenty said. Santos was previously a vice president at commerciakl real estate services firm and a managerwith 'sx real estate group.
She holds both an MBA and master'z of public policy from the Kennedy Schookl of Governmentat . Santos has displayerd a no-nonsense approach appearing as Albert’s stand-ib to testify at D.C. Council meetingsw and in public forums representing the city when he was She is already getting her feet wet in dealing with the politicalp aspects ofthe job. On Tuesday, when the D.C. Counci was busy squaring away final details of budgetimplementation legislation, Santos and Albert’s otherr top deputy, Director of Development David moved around the Wilson Buildingv seeking changes from council Santos apparently was not Fenty’s initial choice to be deput mayor.
Greg O’Dell, Washingto Convention Center Authority CEO and a former staff member of thedeputy mayor’s had been considered a top candidate to replaced Albert, but a sourc e close to O'Dell says he was offerex the job and turned it O’Dell would not confirm that, but indicated he woulde remain in his current post, where he is now taskes with seeking public financing for all of a $550 million conventiob center hotel. “The boardx and the mayor have everg expectation of me completin all the tasks I have he said.
Fenty woule not say whether he had offerede the jobto O’Dell or anyone else before He announced the pick outside the Walker Jones Elementary School, which is being rebuilt as part of a new Northwesr One neighborhood, and said she was “the first personm who has risen to the deputy mayor’s position from within the “I think it’s a great sign for the D.C. governmeny that not only does Valerie Santos have amazing experience in the privatee sector butthat she’s been hard at work servinvg the people of the District of Columbia for the last two the mayor said.
He said Santows shared the vision that he and Albert had for how economic development in the city shouldbe run, not by owningv or overly managing projects but by allowintg the private sector to bring ideas to the “We should try to just facilitatde development. We’ve got the greatestr business community in the world herein D.C. We don’f need to try to replicate what they’re We don’t need an emphasis on owning or building inthe D.C. We need to facilitate. And to do so, we need to hire the best and the brightestrand we’ve done that.
” 36, who lives in Columbia Heights, was workingt for Jones Lang LaSalle as a consultanr to the city when Albert -- whom she calledx a mentor -- recruited her to work for him. She is believe d to be the first womah to serve in the rolefor D.C. and will manage 65 employeesz and as well as oversee the Officeof Planning, Department of Housing and Community Development, the Office of Property Managemeny and the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership, a contractor. “Ijn the coming weeks my goal is to ensurse asmooth transition, which I expect will be relativelyu easy, because I am very fortunate to manage a very talented and skillefd team,” she said.
She said she would continue to move projects all over the with a particular focus on those east of theAnacostis River, such as the planned redevelopment of St. Elizabethas Hospital in Southeast D.C. “Wed will continue to focus on implementinghMayor Fenty’s vision for economic In the context of the current economic climate, we will focus on businessd attraction and retention and in continuing to provide tools to alloqw our local business and not-for-profits to she said. A member of the D.C.
Council who regularly butts headswith Albert, Councilman Kwame D-at large and chair of the economic development issued a press release during the announcement saying he was disappointes he was not invited but saying Santosw “has the experience and the operational for the job and that her appointment was “anb opportunity to forge a new relationshil between the Council and the executive to create jobs for District residents, new opportunitiea for local businesses, more affordabls housing and to efficiently move projects to