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Chief Montgomery County Administrative Officer Bruce Romer, he of the disputes with Gaithersburg over day laborer centers, is to be fired by incoming County Executive Ike Legget. Ann E. Marimow has the details in the Washington Post:

Romer also declined to comment. He has served by Duncan’s side throughout his 12-year tenure. He is known as the low-key, behind-the-scenes balance to Duncan’s high-profile public persona. Duncan first recruited Romer in 1998 from Davenport, Iowa, to serve as city manager in Rockville.

Council member Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) consoled Romer at a gathering of Duncan aides last night.

“Bruce has been a tremendous resource and a beacon of consistency,” she said. But “it is Ike’s right to put his own imprint on the county.”

Leggett has also asked three of Duncan’s four special assistants — Jerry Pasternak, Saralee Todd and Deborah Goodwin — to step down.

Among the other political appointees who received dismissal notifications were Health and Human Services Director Carolyn W. Colvin, her chief operating officer, Kenneth Rumsey, and the chief of behavioral health and crisis services, Daryl Plevy.

Mocoprogressive also notes this development….

In my post about the stabbing at JC Penny a few weeks ago, I asked if anyone had set up a fund to help the victim’s children. Now, it appears that one is available, organized by the Montgomery County Latino Lions Club and administered by BB&T Bank. Chris Robinson reports the details in the Gazette:

A fund has been set up to benefit the children of the 35-year-old Germantown woman stabbed to death at Lakeforest mall earlier this month.

Donations can be made at BB&T banks under the name Domingo Mejia for the three children of Ana Elisa Mejia Avila. She was mother to two daughters and one son, ages 15, 10 and 2-and-a-half, respectively.

Mejia was pronounced dead at an area hospital shortly after the stabbing. Dupree was arrested after being treated for his injuries.

His motive and relationship with Mejia remains under investigation, but an assistant state’s attorney has suggested the crime might have been a random act.

‘‘This appears to be a crime with no reason,” Assistant State’s Attorney Damon Bell said during Dupree’s Nov. 9 bond hearing.

[Lions Club chapter president Grace] Rivera-Oven also said the incident was the result of a ‘‘person not in his total senses.”

I do not see in the online version of the story the contact information on how to donate that was provided in the print edition:

TO CONTRIBUTEFor more information about making a donation to the fund for Ana Elisa Mejia Avila’s children, contact BB&T Multicultural Market Coordinator Angela Franco at 202-835-9338.

I mentioned this a few days ago in my report of last week’s Council meeting, and Chris Robinson has a story about it in this week’s Gazette:

After 27 years of service in Gaithersburg that broke gender barriers locally and worldwide, city Police Chief Mary Ann Viverette is retiring.

The city’s top law enforcement officer for two decades, Viverette, 51, joined the Gaithersburg Police Department in 1979 and has been an influential part of the program ever since, city officials say.

‘‘We understand she’s moving on and that becomes a part of life,” said Mayor Sidney A. Katz. ‘‘We’re sorry to see her move on because she is such an integral part of Gaithersburg.”

‘‘My first thought was the people and citizens and leadership of Gaithersburg have been lucky for all these years because they’ve had an excellent leader,” said Dan Rosenblatt, executive director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

As association president, Viverette led more than 20,000 members from 100 countries in a continuing dialogue of research and professional development. Viverette worked to improve identity theft policing, Web-based officer training and anti-terrorism efforts.

‘‘I think she’s an extraordinary human being, one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met in my whole life,” Rosenblatt said. ‘‘I don’t say this about every one of our past presidents, but Mary Ann is really, really special.”

Her last days on the job are in May, after which she will move with her husband to a home near Myrtle Beach, S.C.

‘‘I’m still young enough to have energy to try something new and also still do the physical things I enjoy doing, like running, golfing, bicycling and those types of things,” Viverette said.

Volunteer work, continuing involvement with the chiefs association and possibly consulting work are also on her future itinerary.

The search for her replacement won’t begin until January, Humpton said.

Update: The City has posted an announcement of this retirement:

Mary Ann Viverette has announced her retirement after 27 years in the City of Gaithersburg Police Department, 20 of those as Chief of Police. Her retirement will take effect May 18, 2007.

“I am proud that I have played at least a small part in developing Gaithersburg and our policing programs to the accredited status we enjoy today,” said Chief Viverette in her letter of announcement to City Manager David Humpton.

“Working with a team of dedicated officers over the past two decades, Chief Viverette has developed and implemented creative and effective programs to better serve the citizens of Gaithersburg,” said Mayor Sidney Katz. “A commitment to excellence will be her legacy.”

Mary Ann Viverette joined the Gaithersburg Police Department in 1979, holding all ranks until her appointment as Chief of Police in 1986. Gaithersburg has seen its force grow from a complement of three sworn officers and one civilian clerk when it was formed in the early 1970’s to a staff of over 50 today.

An FBI Academy graduate, Chief Viverette became the first female elected to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) board of directors in 1999. In October of 2006 she completed her term as president of IACP, serving as an international ambassador for the oldest and largest law enforcement leadership organization with over 20,000 members worldwide.

Under Chief Viverette’s leadership, the Gaithersburg Police Department has been nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) since 1993, meeting or exceeding an internationally-embraced body of more than 400 individual standards covering everything from agency management to personnel issues to the delivery of law enforcement.

Among Chief Viverette’s many accomplishments are her commitment to outfitting the Gaithersburg Police Department with the most advanced tools and equipment and her insistence that the Gaithersburg Police Department be a partner in all aspects of community outreach. Today Gaithersburg Police are actively involved in such programs as National Night Out Against Crime, Adopt-a-School, Neighborhood Watch, child fingerprinting and safety seat inspections, Operation Lifesaver rail safety, and PROS (Police Reaching Out to Students).

“A strong sense of commitment to the community in which she lives and works has paved the way for our Police Department to become an integral partner in creative outreach programs,” said City Manager Dave Humpton. “She has focused much of her energy on building bridges between the Police Department and local businesses, organizations, individuals and neighborhoods, helping to make Gaithersburg a great place to live.”

City Manager Humpton stated that he will begin working with other staff shortly in the search for a new Chief of Police. For additional information please contact the City Manager’s Office at 301-258-6310 or cityhall@gaithersburgmd.gov.