Perry resigns GSA post

Stephen Perry, administrator of the General Services Administration since 2001, has resigned from the agency. His resignation becomes effective Oct. 31.

Perry said he and his wife, Sondra, will return to their hometown of Canton, Ohio, but did not otherwise indicate his future plans in a brief announcement issued today.

“It has truly been an honor for me to serve in this important position and to be part of the Bush administration," he said in a prepared statement. "I have really enjoyed working with so many highly dedicated public officials and others in Washington, D.C., and throughout our country.”

Perry led GSA when many regional offices demonstrated a pattern of contracting abuses, such as paying for construction work with information technology funds. He has led a sweeping reorganization of the agency in an effort to remove some of the systemic factors that facilitated those abuses. The effort has received mixed reviews from procurement experts.

Perry's announcement comes shortly after the other top procurement official in government, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator David Safavian, resigned and was arrested on charges of lying and obstructing an investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff. That leaves the top two political procurement positions in the executive branch vacant at the same time.

“It is important to note that during these times of challenge and change, many of GSA’s customer satisfaction ratings have reached record high levels," Perry said in his statement.

Perry implemented a performance management process at GSA to establish goals and action plans that the agency could measure. He also oversaw initiatives including One GSA, intended to improve collaboration among GSA's divisions, and Get it Right, an effort to improve adherence to contracting rules throughout the agency.