Allen Lew

Watch out, D.C. — our local slice of the internet is experiencing some serious mood swings today! This morning, it was all doom and gloom after the announcement of Gabe Klein’s departure, among several other well-thought of agency heads, like DCRA’s Linda Argo and OCTO’s Bryan Sivak. (Sivak himself sounded really broken up about having to step down.) But things have apparently brightened up a little bit this afternoon, as Vince Gray has announced that Allen Lew will be city’s next City Administrator.

Lew was rumored as a candidate for the position after Gray secured election in September — and the decision has, so far, been well-recieved, as far as this reporter can gauge. Lew, who hails from Ward 6, has been working in the city’s Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization since 2007, a role in which he has managed over $1 billion in construction work at D.C. Public Schools. Of course, Lew’s greatest claim to fame is his steady handling of the development of both Nationals Park and the Washington Convention Center. Lew has a reputation as a bit of a Rahm Emmanuel-type who is not afraid to keep people in line and exert pressure on his contractors — which is evident in the fact that Nationals Park, for all the bluster about its funding, was actually finished on time.

In a statement released this afternoon, Gray said that the “City Administrator must ensure the efficient and effective delivery of city services and oversee the day-to-day operations of executive branch agencies…I see all of these skills and abilities in Mr. Lew.”