Personnel Departures Continue to Raise Questions about Gray Administration Hiring Practices

Yet another of Mayor Vincent Gray's nominees has fallen victim to the recent hiring scandals that have plagued his first few months in office. Monday Gray accepted Lorraine Green's withdrawal of her nomination as the chairperson of the Washington Convention Center and Sports Authority. On the same day, Cherita Whiting, a staunch Gray supporter, said she would leave her special assistant position at the Department of Parks and Recreation.

In release late Monday afternoon, Gray's communication's director reported that the mayor  believe "Ms. Green would have been a great chairperson and would have brought a great deal to the table."

Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans, chairman of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, was holding the nomination while investigations proceeded on allegations that Green helped pay Sulaimon Brown to bash Fenty during the 2010 campaign.

Additionally, WAMU's Patrick Madden discovered in February that Green's daughter had received a job in the administration.

Whiting's name first came to the forefront in February thanks to a Washington Times investigation; she was hired for a newly created special assistant position that reported directly to the Chief of Staff for the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). The Times reports that Whiting failed to report a previous felony conviction on her application for the position.