Jun 19, 2009 10:33 am US/Eastern
DC Water And Sewer Head Picked For Suburban Agency
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) ―
The board of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission on Thursday picked the outgoing head of Washington's water agency to be its general manager.
Jerry Johnson, 61, was already set to resign next month from the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority after its board voted in April to buy out his contract a year early. One D.C. Council member said that decision was aimed at restoring public confidence after the way the authority handled the discovery of high lead levels in its tap water.
But Gene Counihan, vice chairman of the WSSC board and a Montgomery County commissioner, praised Johnson. The Washington Post quoted Counihan as saying Johnson is "a known quantity with an outstanding record as an effective manager. He's put (WASA) in better financial shape and really streamlined and effectively managed that organization."
The WSSC's six-member board voted unanimously to offer the job to Johnson, and Johnson has accepted. The offer is contingent on a background check and contract negotiations, which must be finished by July 8.
The WSSC supplies water and sewer service to 1.8 million people in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
Johnson told The Washington Examiner he is looking forward to leading WSSC, which he called "a fundamentally strong organization that is poised on the edge of greatness."
Counihan pointed out that a scientific journal announced this week that it found no evidence that WASA officials tried to influence the outcome of a 2007 research paper on lead in Washington's water supply.
Johnson's selection marks the second time that Montgomery and Prince George's leaders have tried to break a 15-month stalemate among the agency's six commissioners over a successor to former general manager Andrew D. Brunhart.
Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson withdrew support for the first nominee, former Texas utility leader David Chardavoyne, in April after news reports showed he had been targeted in a racial discrimination complaint by a black employee.
Jack Johnson and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett issued a statement saying Jerry Johnson "is nationally known as a turnaround specialist."
The first WASA general manager, they said, he led the agency "from an unrated agency, with a projected $8 million deficit, to one with an A-plus credit rating and $170 million reserve in just two years."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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