Drama in the Office of Public Printer

Over the years, Doc has reported on various developments in the Government Printing Office, which is the division of the US government responsible for federal printing. Recently, there has been a bit of a drama going on at the GPO and the position of Public Printer, who heads the agency and is a presidential appointment.

As many presidential appointments have become highly political and difficult to get approved by Congress, so has been the position of Public Printer. First, President Obama nominated William Boarman to replace existing Public Printer Robert Tapella, but that nomination was never approved. You can read about the failed Boarman appointment here.

One happy result of the failed Boarman appointment is that Davita Vance-Cooks, the Deputy Public Printer, has now become the acting Public Printer. This marks the first time in history that the Public Printer is a woman.

Vance-Cooks is a seasoned business executive with 30 years of private sector and Federal Government experience.  She has held a succession of senior management positions at GPO for nearly eight years including: Chief of Staff, Managing Director of GPO's Customer Services and Procurement business unit and Managing Director of Publication and Information Sales.  Before coming to GPO, Vance-Cooks held several private sector management positions. You can read about Vance-Cooks here.

At least the GPO has a leader, for now. We'll see what Congress has to say ¬– hopefully the drama is over and everyone can get down to the business of the GPO.