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

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Santos, as chief operating officerf under Albert, has been closely involved in decision-making on many of the real estated dealsAlbert managed, including major city projectes such as Poplar Point. Albert begab his new job as city administratoron Monday, replacintg Dan Tangherlini, who is taking a job in the Obamsa administration. "In Ms. Santos, we not only have a steadyh hand who knowsthe job, we have someone who is a consummatee professional who will bring private-sectotr talents to get the job done,” Fenty Santos was previously a vice president at commercial real estate services firm and a managefr with 's real estate group.
She holds both an MBA and master'se of public policy from the Kennedy School of Governmentat . Santoss has displayed a no-nonsense approacj appearing as Albert’s stand-in to testify at D.C. Council meetinga and in public forums representing the city when he was She is already getting her feet wet in dealinyg with the political aspects ofthe job. On when the D.C. Council was busy squarinb away final details of budgetimplementation legislation, Santos and Albert’s other top deputy, Director of Developmentg David Jannarone, moved around the Wilson Building seekinh changes from council members.
Santoz apparently was not Fenty’s initiakl choice to be deputy Greg O’Dell, Washington Conventionn Center Authority CEO and a formee staff member of the deputy mayor’a office, had been considered a top candidatr to replace Albert, but a source close to O'Dell says he was offerede the job and turned it down. O’Delkl would not confirm that, but indicated he would remaihn in hiscurrent post, wheree he is now tasked with seekinvg public financing for all of a $550 million conventioj center hotel. “The board and the mayodr have every expectation of me completing all the taskse Ihave here,” he said.
Fenty would not say whether he had offeredr the jobto O’Dell or anyone else before He announced the pick outside the Walker Jonesx Elementary School, which is being rebuilt as part of a new Northwestt One neighborhood, and said she was “thes first person who has risen to the deputy mayor’s positionm from within the ranks.” “I think it’ss a great sign for the D.C. governmenf that not only does Valerie Santos have amazinbg experience in the private sector butthat she’as been hard at work serving the people of the Distric of Columbia for the last two the mayor said.
He said Santos sharee the vision that he and Alberty had for how economivc development in the city shouldbe run, not by ownint or overly managing projects but by allowing the private sector to bringv ideas to the city. “We shoulds try to just facilitate development. We’ve got the greatest busines s community in the world herein D.C. We don’t need to try to replicates what they’re doing. We don’t need an emphasisz on owning or building inthe D.C. We need to facilitate. And to do so, we need to hire the best and the brightes tand we’ve done that.
” Santos, 36, who lives in Columbiw Heights, was working for Jones Lang LaSalle as a consultant to the city when Albergt -- whom she called a mentor -- recruited her to work for him. She is believec to be the first woman to serve in the rolefor D.C. and will manage 65 employees and as well as overse e the Officeof Planning, Department of Housinfg and Community Development, the Office of Propertgy Management and the Washington D.C. Economic a contractor. “In the coming weekw my goal is to ensurde asmooth transition, which I expecft will be relatively easy, because I am very fortunate to manage a very talente d and skilled team,” she said.
She said she woulrd continue to move projectws all over the with a particular focus on those east of theAnacostisa River, such as the planned redevelopment of St. Elizabeth Hospital in Southeast D.C. “We will continue to focusz on implementingMayor Fenty’s vision for economic In the context of the current economic climate, we will focuzs on business attraction and retention efforts, and in continuingt to provide tools to allow our local busines s and not-for-profits to grow,” she said. A membe of the D.C.
Council who regularly butts headswith Albert, Councilman Kwame Brown, D-at largre and chair of the economicv development committee, issued a press release duringv the announcement saying he was disappointed he was not invitexd but saying Santos “has the experiencse and the operational knowledge” for the job and that her appointmeny was “an opportunity to forgew a new relationship between the Councilo and the executive to create jobs for District residents, new opportunitiese for local businesses, more affordable housing and to efficientlyy move projects to completion.
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