GSA's Doan era

As you may have been able to tell, we have been spending a lot of our time focusing on the General Services Administration – probably much to the chagrin of GSA officials. And then came Thursday's announcement from the White House that President Bush had nominated Lurita Alexis Doan, a Virginia businesswoman, to be the GSA administrator – information, which, if I can toot our own horn, you read first here at FCW.com.

No doubt, Doan has been getting a Google workout and, from what I've read so far, she definitely seems like an interesting selection. She has experience running an organization, even though GSA is much larger. Importantly, she has worked with GSA, so she knows something about the government contracting process and what a GSA schedule contract is. That was a worry from some GSA insiders -- having a Michael Brown appointee, to use the shorthand.

Doan has her work cut out for her. No doubt, the first task will be to actually get confirmed. GSA's reorganization has been wallowing in Congress. The House just took action and it is now awaiting Senate action.

We can only hope that the Senate will take quick action.

And if and when she does get confirmed, then she only faces the myriad of issues confronting GSA right now. In our editorial coming out on April 10, we call for GSA to open its books so that people can have faith that GSA fully appreciates the problems. After all, rumors are running rampant.

We will be anxious to see what steps Doan takes and what her priorities are.

There will be a considerable quiet period pending the confirmation hearings and Senate action. But we look forward from hearing Doan's thoughts.

Meanwhile, former GSA administrator Stephen Perry has a new job.

Football Hall names new president
Canton native returns home for top position
Stephen Perry, a former head of the U.S. General Services Administration, was named Thursday as the new president and executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A Canton native and graduate of the University of Akron with a master's degree from Stanford, Perry will begin his duties later this month in Canton. His hiring was approved by the hall's board of trustees.
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue worked with Perry when both were on the hall's board in the 1990s.
``He brings a passionate dedication to football and a focused leadership style to his new role,'' Tagliabue said.
Perry, a former senior vice president with Canton-based Timken Co., spent the past five years as the administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration, which acquires equipment and supplies for federal agencies.
He was also director of Ohio's Department of Administrative Services from 1991-1993.