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NEWS: Nov. 16, 2016
Trump Transition in Disarray President-elect Donald Trump's transition was in disarray on Tuesday, marked by firings, infighting and revelations that American allies were blindly dialing in to Trump Tower to try to reach him. Some key Republicans began to question his views and the remaining candidates for top positions. Meanwhile, Trump tweeted that his transition is "very organized." >> New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill Bush Official: Stay Away from 'Arrogant' Trump Team Eliot Cohen, a State Department official in the George W. Bush administration, warned Republicans hopeful of earning a Trump appointment to "stay away" from Trump's "angry, arrogant" team. >> Politico
State's Biggest Union Authorizes Strike California state government's biggest union won a mandate from its members to strike if it can't reach an agreement on a new contract with Gov. Jerry Brown's administration, raising the stakes in stalled negotiations. SEIU Local 1000, which represents more than 90,000 workers in a broad array of job classifications, said 92 percent of members who voted cast a ballot to authorize the strike. >> Sacramento Bee Illinois Labor Board Boosts Governor in Union Fight An Illinois state labor board declared that Gov. Bruce Rauner and the state's largest employee union, AFSCME Local 31, are at an impasse in negotiations, clearing the way for the Republican governor to attempt to impose his terms on a new contract. >> Chicago Tribune OPM to Launch New Tools to Help Recruit Talented Feds Several new tools from the Office of Personnel Management are coming soon to help federal agencies better recruit and hire new talent, particularly top cybersecurity professionals. >> Federal News Radio
Magazine Honors 8 Officials Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, along with six other state and local government officials, were named Public Officials of the Year by Governing magazine. "These eight remarkable men and women know that public service isn't about casting blame or pointing fingers," the magazine wrote. "It's about forging real solutions to real problems." >> Governing Former Virginia Governor to Teach at Regent University Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, who recently emerged from a long legal saga a free but tarnished man, will join the public-administration faculty at Regent University, the Virginia Beach institution founded by televangelist Pat Robertson. >> Washington Post Mayor Resigns After Racist Michelle Obama Post Beverly Whaling, the mayor of the tiny West Virginia town of Clay, resigned after her comment on a Facebook post that called first lady Michelle Obama an "ape in heels" drew international attention. >> Reuters
IG: CUNY's Management Is Shoddy, 'Ripe for Abuse' Shoddy oversight and ineffective management at the City University of New York have created a system "ripe for abuse" that has potentially siphoned money away from needy students and crucial campus projects, according to a report by the state's inspector general. The IG also found that decentralization at CUNY, the country's largest public urban university, has enabled the presidents of individual colleges to dole out money or benefits "with no meaningful accountability." >> New York Times Retired General Named President of Kansas State U. Richard Myers, a retired four-star Air Force general and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, will be Kansas State University's president. The Kansas Board of Regents voted unanimously to promote Myers from interim president, a job he's held since April. >> AP/Wichita Eagle
No Efforts Detected to Hack U.S. Elections, Says DHS Chief Despite warnings during the presidential campaign that there might be attempts by Russian hackers to disrupt or even influence the outcome of the November U.S. elections, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said authorities on high alert across the country detected no major cyberattacks or untoward online activity directed at election infrastructure. >> FedScoop California Still Counting 4 Million Ballots California election officials continued their efforts to review and count some 4 million ballots from the Nov. 8 election, a daunting process that has kept a few closely watched races in limbo. >> Los Angeles Times Technology Management | The Nation Secret Service's Info Security Fixed, CIO Says The Secret Service has restructured its IT operations and "rectified" many of its information-security deficiencies brought to light after dozens of agents accessed and leaked personal records of a Republican congressmen, the service's CIO said. >> FedScoop K-12 Education | Wyoming $1.8 Billion Schools Shortfall Projected With state revenues dragged down by an energy-industry downturn, Wyoming's education system is projected to face a roughly $1.8 billion shortfall by the end of the 2022 fiscal year, a staggering number that has prompted some lawmakers to discuss further spending cuts and the need to raise additional revenues. >> Casper Star-Tribune High Lead Levels Found in 164 Mass. School Buildings Water tests conducted at about 300 public school buildings in Massachusetts found 164 school buildings with at least one sample with lead levels above regulatory limits, state officials reported, announcing steps being taken to address the problems. >> Boston Globe Website Helps Schools Shop for Broadband Rates A free website that allows school-district officials to weigh how much they pay for broadband services against neighboring districts' costs has been launched by the nonprofit EducationSuperhighway. >> Education Week >> Follow GovManagement on Twitter >> Share this edition:
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VIEWPOINT Public Workforce | Joe Davidson The Problem with Freeze and Fire Freeze and fire: opposites in nature, but pillars of Donald Trump's approach to the federal workforce. The president-elect says he will freeze federal hiring soon after taking office. He also wants to fire workers in the Department of Veterans Affairs faster, and two of his top advisers are pushing for fast-track terminations governmentwide. There are serious problems with both positions. Depending on the rationale, the freeze plan defies good reason or is simply bad policy. Talk of accelerated firing is red meat for Trump supporters, but it runs the risk of threatening civil-service protections. >> Washington Post PLUS: Jeff Neal on what the next president should do with the Office of Personnel Management. >> Federal News Radio | More commentaries DATAPOINT 32.5% Percentage of all federal-government hiring in 2015 that was made up of military veterans, 71,867 hires in all and an increase of about 6,000 from the previous year, although federal agencies continue to struggle with retaining their new veteran hires, according to a recent report from the Office of Personnel Management >> Federal News Radio | More data
“The heat comes on. Sometimes it's too hot. Sometimes it's too cool, but I don't know anything that's going on with the pipes.” California Department of Government Operations Secretary Marybel Batjer, who is championing an initiative that aims to modernize how the state hires its workers, comparing her task of transforming the way the state's government works to overhauling the plumbing in an old building >> Sacramento Bee | More quotes UPCOMING EVENTS
Heritage Foundation Book discussion: "Unraveled: Obamacare, Religious Liberty and Executive Power" Today, noon-1 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Urban Institute Webinar: "Using the New Pay for Success Project Assessment Tool" Today, 1 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution and Global Campaign for Education-U.S. Discussion: "Recommendations for the New U.S. Administration in Global Education" Today, 1:30-3 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. GovLoop Online training: "How Gov Does Customer Service Right" Today, 2-3 p.m. ET Defense One Defense One Summit Nov. 17, Washington, D.C. Governing Massachusetts Leadership Forum Nov. 17, Boston Pew Charitable Trusts and California Budget & Policy Center Public event and webcast: "The Future of Retirement Savings in California: Implementing Secure Choice" Nov. 17, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. PT, Sacramento, Calif. American Enterprise Institute Discussion: "U.S.-Taiwan Relations in the New Administration" Nov. 17, 9:30-11 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C. American Society for Public Administration Webinar: "Shifting Perspectives: a Vision for the Public Sector" Nov. 17, 1 p.m. ET Engaging Local Government Leaders Technology Efficiency Webinar Nov. 17, 1 p.m. ET Government Technology Webinar: "Social Media Is a Record: How Juneau, Alaska, Protects Transparency with Automated Archiving" Nov. 22, 2 p.m. ET >> Full events listings |
