CYITC Board Member: “The Process Was Corrupt”

Turn on Channel 13 for some real entertainment: Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray is now in the midst of sharply questioning Millicent Williams, the executive director-designate of the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp. who is at the center of a recent power grab by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.

For more on the background behind the grab, read this and this. The Post followed up this morning as well.

Gray’s questioning is at a hearing called by Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells to discuss recent changes at the CYITC, which was rocked last month by changes initiated when Fenty replaced two high-profile board members, resulting in the appointment of Williams, who had been a Fenty aide.

Board member Winifred Carson-Smith, a council appointee, expressed deep concerns about the process leading to Williams’ selection, saying she voted against Williams’ appointment because “I felt that the process was corrupt.”

“This was foisted upon us,” she said later, “there’s no other way to put it.”

Williams, it came out in the hearing, was not interviewed by the full CYITC board before her appointment. Nor had she even discussed her employment contract with the board, even though she is currently scheduled to start on July 14.

Asked Gray of Williams, “Next Monday, you’re slated to show up and you don’t even know what your salary is?

Williams, to Gray’s questioning, clearly indicated some discomfort with the nature of her appointment. “I don’t know if I’d call it transparency….it probably should have gone through a full review process.”

Williams was left to twist alone under Gray’s questioning, seeing as board chair and mayoral appointee Lisa Simpson failed to show up for the hearing, even though she appeared on a draft witness list today.

UPDATE, 7:45 P.M.: Simpson and her mayorally appointed colleagues didn’t show up due to “conflicts that prevented them from attending the hearing today,” says Fenty spokesperson Dena Iverson.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Adrian Fenty, Kids, Politics, Tommy Wells, Vincent Gray. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.