Mayor Vincent Gray announced this afternoon that he would nominate Jeff DeWitt to become D.C.’s next Chief Financial Officer when Natwar Gandhi steps down. The next question, naturally, is, who is Jeff DeWitt?
DeWitt, an Army veteran, has served as the CFO of Phoenix, Ariz. from March 2009 until the present, and first entered that city’s government in 1989 as a resource specialist in the Water Services Department. He was one of the candidates selected by a committee led by former Mayor Anthony Williams and former Office of Management and Budget director Alice Rivlin for Gray to chose from.
In a prepared statement, Gray said DeWitt “has a sterling track record in municipal finance. He has extensive experience in working with the Wall Street credit-rating agencies to maintain and improve a large city’s bond ratings. He is a skilled manager and leader. And he has proven experience working collaboratively with the executive and legislative branches of government to ensure that residents are served well and served fairly.”
When asked by NBC4’s Tom Sherwood, DeWitt said his current salary is $175,000 a year and will rise to the $250,000 range when he comes to D.C. to deal with cost of living. DeWitt joked that it’s “quite a bit more expensive to live in D.C.” All assembled laughed instead of crying.
DeWitt was also asked if he would sign checks for all 33,000 D.C. government employees, should the federal government shutdown. Gray stepped in and said DeWitt would not be apart of that process, as he wouldn’t beginning serving until 30 days after the Council approved him.
Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who chairs the Committee on Finance and Revenue, said that committee is expected to vote on DeWitt at the end of October. The full Council should vote by November, he said.
As reporters left the event, they couldn’t help but ask Gray about his letter to the OMB, stating that all D.C. government employees are essential. When asked if he’d be willing to go to jail to keep the D.C. government open in the event of a federal government shutdown, he said “It’s a good plan” and that he expects it to be approved.
