McWatters telecommutes: So what?
It’s been more than a week now since the Washington Post reportedwhat anyone who follows the NCUA has known for a while: Chairman J. Mark McWatters doesn’t care much for Washington and spends as little time there as possible. The article quotes an Executive Director who represents an organization of former lawmakers and cabinet secretaries as describing this unorthodox arrangement “unprecedented and incredibly troubling.” In fact the more I think about it, the real problem is that so many people find McWatters’ decision to base himself in Dallas rather than the nation’s Capital so troubling.
First, I find it refreshing that in an age when Congressmen retire to become Washington based lobbyists and agency heads don’t think twice about taking subsidized honeymoons on the company dime or getting a really great rate on Georgetown rental property, we actually have a public servant who wants to live out in the community among people impacted by his decisions. Washington would be a better place if policy makers spent less time in Washington.
To read the article you would think that the Chairman is the day-to-day manager of NCUA. If this is true then it’s time to change. For one thing, these are term limited positions: I hope the organization is structured so that the day-to-day operations can continue no matter who is ultimately in charge. We don’t need Chairman McWatters deciding who gets to play tennis when. In fact, the Chairman’s role should be much more analogous to that of the Chairman of the Board than to the head administrator of the agency. He sets the direction and holds staff accountable for getting the job done.
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