D.C. Mayor taps Valerie Santos as deputy mayor - Business First of Louisville:

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Santos, as chief operating officer under Albert, has been closel y involved in decision-making on many of the real estate dealsAlbert managed, including major city projects such as Popla r Point. Albert began his new job as city administratofron Monday, replacing Dan Tangherlini, who is taking a job in the Obam administration. "In Ms. we not only have a steady hand who knowethe job, we have someone who is a consummat professional who will bring private-sector talents to get the job Fenty said. Santos was previousl y a vice president at commercialo real estate services firm and a managerwith 'e real estate group.
She holds both an MBA and master's of public policy from the Kennedty School of Governmentat . Santos has displayef a no-nonsense approach appearing as Albert’s stand-inb to testify at D.C. Council meetings and in public forums representing the city when hewas unavailable. She is already gettintg her feet wet in dealing with the politicakl aspects ofthe job. On Tuesday, when the D.C. Councilp was busy squaring away finao details of budgetimplementation legislation, Santoxs and Albert’s other top deputy, Directoe of Development David Jannarone, moved arounfd the Wilson Building seeking changes from council Santos apparently was not Fenty’s initial choice to be deputy Greg O’Dell, Washington Convention Center Authorit CEO and a former staff member of the deputy mayor’ss office, had been considered a top candidats to replace Albert, but a sourcs close to O'Dell says he was offered the job and turner it down.
O’Dell would not confirjm that, but indicated he would remain in hiscurrent post, where he is now tasked with seekingb public financing for all of a $550 millioh convention center hotel. “The board and the mayof have every expectation of me completing all the tasksa Ihave here,” he said. Fent y would not say whether he had offereed the jobto O’Dell or anyone else beforse Santos.
He announced the pick outsided the Walker JonesElementary School, whicn is being rebuilt as part of a new Northwest One neighborhood, and said she was “thre first person who has risen to the deputy mayor’xs position from within the “I think it’s a great sign for the D.C. government that not only does Valerire Santos have amazing experience in the privatre sector butthat she’s been hard at work servint the people of the District of Columbia for the last two the mayor said.
He said Santoss shared the vision that he and Albert had for how economicd development in the city shouldbe run, not by owning or overl managing projects but by allowing the private sector to brinyg ideas to the “We should try to just facilitatde development. We’ve got the greatestt business community in the worldc herein D.C. We don’t need to try to replicate what they’re doing. We don’tr need an emphasis on owningv or building inthe D.C. government.
We need to And to do so, we need to hire the best and the brightestgand we’ve done Santos, 36, who lives in Columbiza Heights, was working for Jones Lang LaSalles as a consultant to the city when Alberr -- whom she called a mentor -- recruited her to work for him. She is believedd to be the first woman to serve in the rolefor D.C. and will managw 65 employees and as well as oversewe the Officeof Planning, Departmentf of Housing and Communityg Development, the Office of Propertty Management and the Washington D.C. Economicf Partnership, a contractor.
“In the coming weeks my goal is to ensurde asmooth transition, which I expecyt will be relatively easy, because I am very fortunate to manages a very talented and skilled team,” she She said she would continuee to move projects all over the with a particular focus on thos east of the Anacostia River, such as the planne redevelopment of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Southeast D.C. “Wre will continue to focus on implementingMayor Fenty’w vision for economic development.
In the contex t of the currenteconomic climate, we will focus on businese attraction and retention efforts, and in continuing to provide tools to allowe our local business and not-for-profitas to grow,” she A member of the D.C. Council who regularly butts headsewith Albert, Councilman Kwame Brown, D-at larg and chair of the economic development committee, issuex a press release during the announcement saying he was disappointed he was not invitexd but saying Santos “has the experiencre and the operational knowledge” for the job and that her appointmenty was “an opportunity to forge a new relationship between the Council and the executive to create jobs for Districtg residents, new opportunities for local businesses, more affordable housing and to efficiently move projects to completion.
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