Draft Report Released On Gray Administration's Hiring Practices

Council Member Mary Cheh's draft report looks at two big issues that have arisen involving the personnel decisions of the Gray administration: compensation levels and nepotism.

On the first issue, the report found that the salaries of two of Gray's top aides -- his chief of staff and the chief of staff to the city administrator -– exceed the legal cap, and it calls for either a reduction or an exemption from the council.

On the issue of nepotism, a sharp disagreement broke out at this council meeting.

Cheh's report says the committee is unaware of any allegations that officers exercised influence during the hiring process –- it was referring to the WAMU report that showed that some of the children of Gray's close advisors landed jobs in the administration.

But that section of the report didn't sit well with Council Member David Catania, who called the draft report "a whitewash" and says he wants to see a council hearing on this very issue. After the hearing, Cheh said she is "prepared" to have that hearing.