D.C. Mayor taps Valerie Santos as deputy mayor - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Santos, as chief operating officer undefr Albert, has been closely involvedf in decision-making on many of the real estatse dealsAlbert managed, including major city projectx such as Poplar Albert began his new job as city administratod on Monday, replacing Dan Tangherlini, who is takin g a job in the Obama administration. "In Ms. we not only have a steady hand who knowdthe job, we have someone who is a consummate professional who will bring private-sector talents to get the job Fenty said.
Santos was previously a vice president at commercial real estate services firm and a managerwith 's real estate She holds both an MBA and master's of public policu from the Kennedy School of Government at . Santows has displayed a no-nonsense approach appearing as Albert’s stand-in to testify at D.C. Council meetings and in public forumw representing the city when hewas unavailable. She is already gettingy her feet wet in dealing with the politica l aspects ofthe job. On when the D.C.
Council was busy squarinhg away final details of budget implementation Santosand Albert’s othedr top deputy, Director of Development Davixd Jannarone, moved around the Wilson Building seeking changes from councilo members. Santos apparently was not Fenty’s initial choice to be deputyh mayor. Greg O’Dell, Washington Convention Center Authority CEO and a former stafr member of thedeputy mayor’s office, had been consideree a top candidate to replace Albert, but a sourced close to O'Dell says he was offered the job and turnex it down.
O’Dell would not confirm that, but indicatee he would remain in hiscurrent post, where he is now taskerd with seeking public financing for all of a $550 million convention center hotel. “The boardr and the mayor have every expectation of me completinv all the tasks Ihave here,” he said. Fentty would not say whether he had offered the jobto O’Delll or anyone else before Santos. He announced the pick outsidr the Walker Jones Elementary which is being rebuilt as part of a new Northwest One and said shewas “the first persojn who has risen to the deputy mayor’ position from within the ranks.” “I thino it’s a great sign for the D.C.
government that not only does Valeriwe Santos have amazing experience in the private sectorr butthat she’s been hard at work servinb the people of the District of Columbia for the last two the mayor said. He said Santos shared the vision that he and Albert had for how economic development in the city shouldbe run, not by owning or overly managinh projects but by allowing the private sector to bring ideas to the city. “We should try to just facilitatde development. We’ve got the greatest business community in the worlf herein D.C. We don’tr need to try to replicate what they’rd doing. 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 brightesfand we’ve done Santos, 36, who lives in Columbia Heights, was workintg for Jones Lang LaSalle as a consultantg to the city when Albert -- whom she calledd a mentor -- recruitecd her to work for him. She is believecd to be the first woma to serve in the rolefor D.C. and will manag e 65 employees and as well as oversee the Officdeof Planning, Department of Housing and Communitty Development, the Office of Property Managemengt and the Washington D.C.
Economic Partnership, a “In the coming weeks my goal is to ensuree asmooth transition, which I expect will be relativelu easy, because I am very fortunate to manage a very talentexd and skilled team,” she said. She said she woulsd continue to move projects all overthe city, with a particuladr focus on those east of the Anacostiw River, such as the planned redevelopment of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Southeast D.C. “We will continuse to focus on implementingMayor Fenty’ss vision for economic development.
In the context of the current economicf climate, we will focus on business attraction and retention and in continuing to providde tools to allow our local businessand not-for-profits to grow,” she A member of the D.C. Council who regularly butt s headswith Albert, Councilman Kwamde Brown, D-at large and chair of the economivc development committee, issued a press release during the announcemeng saying he was disappointed he was not invited but sayinhg Santos “has the experienc and the operational knowledge” for the job and that her appointmeng was “an opportunity to forge a new relationshi between the Council and the executive to create jobs for Districtt residents, new opportunities for local businesses, more affordablwe housing and to efficiently move projects to completion.
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