Few faces final vote by D.C. council

Washington official expresses concern about Richmond County grand jury probe of fire department

Web posted June 8, 2000

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By Mark Mathis
Staff Writer

While some Washington City Council members have expressed concerns about Ronnie Few's connection to a local grand jury investigation, other officials in the nation's capital are confident the Augusta fire chief will come out of the probe unscathed.

OTHER STORIES: • Fire chief nears OK for Washington job • Chief answers questions • Capital supports fire chief • Few addresses allegations • Augustans back Few in capital • Agents confiscate fire records • Fire official resigns from department • Few pays $642 bill for calls • Officials' phone bills top $1,000 • Mayor is unsettled by debts • Chiefs group covers late bill • Chiefs' bill goes unpaid • Ex-fire chief bids farewell to Augusta • Group hits media for Few squabble • Fire chief reports to grand jury • Few faces final vote by D.C. council • Few accepts D.C. job

Chief Few was nominated to become the Washington fire chief by Mayor Anthony Williams and accepted the job at a news conference last Friday in the nation's capital. He still has to be confirmed by the Washington City Council.

One council member, Sharon Ambrose, was quoted in Saturday's Washington Times as being distressed that Chief Few was under grand jury scrutiny.

``I'm not happy about that at all,'' Ms. Ambrose said. ``How come nobody checks clips from hometown newspapers?''

Others said they would withhold judgment until Chief Few's confirmation hearing, which could come as early as the end of the month, according to a spokeswoman for Mr. Williams.

The probe is casting a large net in its investigation of the entire Richmond County government, making it hard to be concerned about questions surrounding Chief Few, said Lt. Ray Sneed, president of the Washington firefighters union.

``It's kind of tough with a citywide probe to say that one department and one person should be taken hostage until this thing is completed,'' Lt. Sneed said.

Even though he is confident Chief Few will be confirmed by a city councilthat is just letting ``politics run rampant,'' Lt. Sneed said members will grill him on questions surrounding the probe.

``He's going to have to go before the council, and they're going to ask him a lot of tough questions before they vote on his confirmation,'' Lt. Sneed said. ``He's going to have an opportunity to answer all these questions, and the only thing I would advise him to do is to do his homework.''

The only bump in the road Chief Few's confirmation could hit is if council members have facts to back up the allegations, Lt. Sneed said.

``The allegations are not going to be the focus, but if (council members) can put their hands on anything and say that he did do something wrong .ƒ.ƒ. then he might have a problem being confirmed,'' he said.

The grand jury report last year said Chief Few distributed pay raises to administrative-level employees at the expense of firefighters.

The report called for no action, but another grand jury with an unlimited term was seated in January to look into the allegations surrounding the fire department and other government agencies.

Chief Few has always denied the allegations, saying pay raises were given to administrators who had been underpaid since he came to Augusta in 1997.

``Our fire department accepts any challenge,'' Chief Few said Friday. ``I'm not worried about anything we've done wrong, because we haven't done anything wrong.''

Mr. Williams is also not worried and is standing by his candidate.

``He's not expressed any concern,'' said Elaina Temple, a spokeswoman for Mr. Williams. ``The mayor fully supports Few and thinks he is a good candidate.''

Reach Mark Mathis at (706) 823-3227.