Gray Chief of Staff Resigns Under Political Pressure

After for the Gray Administration, Chief of Staff to Mayor Gray, Geri Mason Hall, resigned from her position Tuesday. Mason Hall was scheduled to appear before a District Council Panel on administration salaries that were over the legal limit.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Gray announced that his acting COS will be . Quander has been serving as the deputy mayor for Public Safety and Justice.

Gray appointed and at the time said of the former Sodexo executive that she was an "outstanding personnel and staff manager." In the end personnel issues are exactly what led to her resignation.

“Gerri and I discussed this matter extensively and we both agreed that the distractions of the past few weeks have overshadowed the important work of this government,” said the Mayor in a press release. “We have agreed that this decision is in the best interest of the city.”

The past several weeks have been filled with controversy over Gray appointees who were questionably qualified for their positions and/or were being paid salaries greater than those paid to the previous administration's staff. Reports surfaced that the children of several top administration officials received plumb positions.

The most dramatic issue has been the hiring and subsequent firing of Sulaimon Brown. Patch's own Doug Parrish about the Gray vs. Brown saga. Brown was a little-known mayoral candidate who frequently plugged Gray at debates and whose outlandish attacks on Mayor Adrian Fenty saw him excluded from a few events.

Brown has since spoken out, challenging Gray's contention that he did not know of Brown's hiring. The Washington Post recently reported cell phone records provided by Brown that show conversations between Brown, Gray campaign staff and Gray himself.

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh released a draft report on Executive Personnel Practices March 10. The hearing today would have addressed the "major concerns" raised in the report: "grouped into three categories: (1) compensation, (2) qualifications, and (3) nepotism," according to the document.

Mason Hall stepped down just before 2 p.m. when she would have gone before Cheh. Gray announced Quander's new interim role just after 5 p.m. the same day.