On the same day that President Clinton proclaimed his support for D.C. residents struggle to gain full citizenship rights, the outgoing president signed an executive order that formally created a federal task force with broad authority to develop and implement its own programs for the District of Columbia. City officials were not involved in drafting the executive order. While Deputy Mayor John Koskinen acknowledged being aware that the Clinton administration was giving consideration to formalizing the task force s existence before the president left office, city officials appeared to be unaware that Clinton had completed and signed the executive order Jan. 15 until The Common Denominator brought it to their attention. Joyce Smith, who was deputy executive director of the task force under Clinton s presidency, said none of the four people in the Office of Management and Budget who have served as the task force s staff will continue in their jobs as part of the Bush administration.
Executive orders continue in effect when administrations change unless they are rescinded.
Koskinen has been a D.C. resident for more than 30 years. For the last four years, there s been nothing in the working relationship that would give people any pause.