AS we approach the end of an administration and the dawn of another, it is an opportune time to raise an issue few people talk about but many feel strongly about, be they on one side of the divide or the other. Of the many elephants in the room, one that needs recognition of and understanding is the value of political appointees to the positions of the commissioner and his deputies.

A political appointee includes Cabinet secretaries and their subordinates at the deputy secretary, undersecretary or assistant secretary levels, and the heads and deputies of most independent agencies. The appointing power is the president of the republic, and the most important criteria, among the many that he must use in making his choice, is the appointees' ability to manage, design and effectively conduct new programs, implement key legislation (both old and new) or deliver services. In turn, the appointee, who possesses those needed qualities, must be able to educate political leaders about an agency's prerogatives and the regulated industry's unique attributes as well as to maintain the delicate balance between the agency's core mission and the political goals of elected officials.

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