Peter Nickles, 69, is the District of Columbia’s next acting attorney general. He has already been the lead lawyer on a host of litigation involving special education, juvenile justice and mental health services.
You’ve talked about Adrian Fenty bringing “competence.” But didn’t your client campaign on a promise of excellence?
The mayor campaigned on a platform of excellence. But he’s dealing with a government that has a lot of folks in it who don’t meet our standards of competence. For example, in the area of special education. In my view, we’re not anywhere, except in certain areas, at standards of excellence.
So why hasn’t your client been able to address that in the year that he’s had?
One of the things that we’ve done is to hold people accountable and move people out who are not performing and move people in who show the promise of excellence, and I’ve been very much a part of that.
Out, or just to another agency?
Out.
Can you give us an example?
I don’t want to get into personnel.
The legislation that your client asked for [taking over responsibility for the District’s public schools] shipped most of the heavy lifting to Deborah Gist’s shop [the Office of State Superintendent]. And Deborah Gist has been asked to do all the work with only a fraction of the budget and political support.
Well, let me say this about that. There’s a transition going on. We are not going to screw up the limited progress we’ve had thus far by having a big shift of responsibility. So we haven’t done that.
What should we be looking forward to in the next year of the Fenty administration, and how are we to judge the success or failure of the administration?
Take a look at the agreements we’ve entered into. There’s not only specific commitments we’ve made, but there’s dates. And if we don’t meet them, you ought to call me and say, “What the hell is going on?”
