GSA replaces career leader of policy office with political appointee

The chief of the General Services Administration has replaced the acting head of the agency's Office of Governmentwide Policy -- a 33-year career federal employee -- with a political appointee.

GSA Administrator Lurita Doan selected Kevin Messner to serve as the policy office's acting associate administrator, replacing John Sindelar, who has headed it with the same title since December 2005. Messner will also continue in his role as associate administrator for the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, a position he has held since June 2006.

Neither of Messner's jobs are subject to Senate confirmation, and officials in acting positions do not have to be approved by the White House's Presidential Personnel Office. This is the first time the office has been headed by a political appointee, according to GSA.

A GSA spokeswoman said that Doan made the decision to name a political appointee because of the office's involvement with the President's Management Agenda initiatives. The five main items on the agenda are personnel reform, improved financial management, electronic government, opening work not considered core to government to contractors and use of program performance information to inform budget decisions.

"Kevin Messner has already had an extraordinarily positive impact on our relationship with Congress and our partners in the administration," Doan said in a statement. "His demonstrated leadership and vision will further advance our efforts in becoming even more responsive and effective in supporting the President's Management Agenda."

The Office of Governmentwide Policy was created in December 1995 as a means of consolidating GSA's policy functions. It has authority to set policies in the areas of personal and real property, travel and transportation, information technology, regulatory information and use of federal advisory committees.

Sindelar has not indicated what his plans are. A GSA news release stated that he will return to his position as deputy associate administrator of the policy office.

"John has performed magnificently since my appointment as administrator, and I look forward to his continued contributions as part of our senior executive team," Doan said.

Sindelar has played an instrumental role in launching and implementing the Bush administration's e-government and lines of business initiatives, which are part of the President's Management Agenda. The e-government effort is designed in part to make government services more accessible to citizens online, and the lines of business initiative is aimed at consolidating back-end technology systems across government, in areas such as financial management and human resources.

Despite Doan's public statements supporting the administration's management agenda, some industry officials questioned whether she has demonstrated a commitment to interagency endeavors, a category in which many of the e-government initiatives fall.

"I am not sure that I have heard her elaborate on e-government and lines of business activities other than 'we'll continue them,' " said Emory Miller, a former GSA executive now with Robbins-Gioia, a program management consulting firm. "I think she has been pretty singularly focused on the [Federal Acquisition Service] organization and the [contracting] schedules."

Messner came to GSA from the office of Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., where he was the chief of staff. Previously, he served as chief of staff for Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., and as legislative director for Kolbe on appropriations and immigration issues. Messner's private sector experience includes working as an engineer with General Motors Corp.

In a statement, Messner said he is "excited by this new challenge to help shape government policies that work for the American people."

"GSA is a fantastic place to be, right now, because it is an essential part of making the federal government more efficient by using a simple economic theory -- leverage the buying power of the entire federal government to save taxpayer dollars," he said.