Who's Next at OPM?

In trying to answer that question (and to figure out who is being floated for a number of other personnel-related appointments), I got an interesting answer. Apparently, American Federation of Government Employees General Counsel Mark Roth thinks the next OPM director could be Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier, and that the organization would "vehemently oppose" his nomination. I asked him why, and got this response:

He has consistently supported Bush “deform” efforts like NSPS and Max HR and contracting out inherently governmental functions, and a leopard can not be expected to change its spots just because the political winds have changed. While he could have been a force for good government and employee involvement , he really was missing in action for the federal workforce and we can not have that type of leadership CONTINUED at OPM. On the other hand, we do see value in the PPS as a think tank working with us and Obama. There are a lot of projects that PPS could impact positively so we would like to see him stay in that position.

Strong words. It's true that the Partnership has called for a total reform of the federal pay system and a move away from the General Schedule. Partnership Vice President for Policy John Palguta has said that while opposition to using programs like NSPS to curtail labor rights can be justified, it doesn’t necessarily invalidate efforts to reform evaluation and compensation. But Stier also has spoken out against attempts to suggest that federal employees are overpaid, and the Partnership has launched a major call to reform the way agencies bring new people on board and train them.

Partnership spokeswoman Sarah Howe said the organization would take a pass on answering whether Stier was up for the top job at OPM, and on responding to AFGE's opposition. The Partnership is normally one of the most voluble organizations on the block, but Stier wouldn't talk about who he was speaking with during the general election, and he wouldn't talk about who he talks to on the transition team. If he's clamming up about his own prospects, that makes me inclined to think he's a possible nominee.