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

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Santos, as chief operating officer undee Albert, has been closely involve in decision-making on many of the real estater dealsAlbert managed, including majorf city projects such as Poplarr Point. Albert began his new job as city administratoron Monday, replacing Dan who is taking a job in the Obama "In Ms. Santos, we not only have a steady hand who knowsathe job, we have someone who is a consummatew professional who will bring private-secto r talents to get the job done,” Fenty said. Santosd was previously a vice president at commercial real estatr services firm and a managerwith 's real estater group.
She holds both an MBA and master'z of public policy from the Kennedy Schook of Governmentat . Santos has displayed a no-nonsense approacjh appearing as Albert’s stand-in to testify at D.C. Councip meetings and in public forums representingh the city when hewas unavailable. She is already getting her feet wet in dealingg with the political aspects ofthe job. On when the D.C. Council was busy squaring away finalo details of budgetimplementation legislation, Santosx and Albert’s other top deputy, Directorr of Development David Jannarone, move around the Wilson Building seeking changes from council members.
Santo s apparently was not Fenty’s initiak choice to be deputy Greg O’Dell, Washington Convention Center Authority CEO and a former stafr member of the deputy mayor’s office, had been considereed a top candidate to replace but a source close to O'Dell says he was offered the job and turnede it down. O’Dell would not confirm but indicated he would remain in hiscurrent post, wherde he is now tasked with seeking publicd financing for all of a $550 million convention center hotel.
“The board and the mayor have everh expectation of me completing all the taska Ihave here,” he Fenty would not say whethee he had offered the job to O’Dell or anyones else before Santos. He announced the pick outside the Walker JonessElementary School, which is being rebuilt as part of a new Northwest One neighborhood, and said she was “the firsg person who has risen to the deputy mayor’s position from within the “I think it’s a great sign for the D.C.
governmenty that not only does Valerie Santozs have amazing experience in the private sector butthat she’ss been hard at work serving the peoplr of the District of Columbia for the last two the mayor said. He said Santosd shared the vision that he and Albert had for how economix development in the city shouldbe run, not by owninh or overly managing projects but by allowing the private sectotr to bring ideas to the “We should try to just facilitatr development. We’ve got the greatest business community in the worldr herein D.C. We don’t need to try to replicates what they’re doing. We don’t need an emphasids on owning or buildin g inthe D.C. government.
We need to And to do so, we need to hire the best and the brightesgand we’ve done that.” Santos, 36, who lives in Columbias Heights, was working for Jones Lang LaSalle as a consultantg to the city when Albert -- whom she callec a mentor -- recruited her to work for him. She is believes to be the first woman to servs in the rolefor D.C. and will manage 65 employeees and as well as oversee the Officweof Planning, Department of Housing and Community the Office of Property Management and the Washingtojn D.C.
Economic Partnership, a “In the coming weeks my goal is to ensure asmoothn transition, which I expect will be relatively because I am very fortunate to manage a very talente d and skilled team,” she She said she wouls continue to move projects all over the city, with a particulae focus on those east of the Anacostiza River, such as the planned redevelopmentt of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Southeast D.C. “We will continue to focus on implementingMayod Fenty’s vision for economic development.
In the contextt of the currenteconomic climate, we will focue on business attraction and retention efforts, and in continuint to provide tools to allow our local business and not-for-profits to she said. A membedr of the D.C. Council who regularly buttws headswith Albert, Councilman Kwamd Brown, D-at large and chair of the economidc development committee, issued a press release during the announcementr saying he was disappointed he was not invitecd but saying Santos “has the experienc e and the operational knowledge” for the job and that her appointmenyt was “an opportunity to forge a new relationship between the Councip and the executive to creatre jobs for District residents, new opportunities for locapl businesses, more affordable housing and to efficientlt move projects to completion.
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