Inez announces she’ll step down as CPSC chief

I had heard awhile back that Inez wouldn’t stick around for Obama’s second term, but I guess this makes it official:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Having led the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) through one of the most significant transformations in the agency’s history, Chairman Inez M. Tenenbaum announced today that she will not seek renomination when her terms expires in October 2013.Inez_Tenenbaum

In an address at the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization annual meeting, the Chairman stated: “I plan to stay on as Chairman until my successor is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so that I can be sure that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is in safe hands.”

“So many qualified, deserving people have wanted to serve in the President administration—and he chose me.  For the rest of my life, I will be grateful to President Obama for nominating me to be Chairman of the CPSC and for giving me the opportunity to serve in his administration,” added the Chairman.  “It has been my great privilege to serve as Chairman of the CPSC, and the best part of my experience has been working with the many talented, dedicated professionals at the agency. “

Chairman Tenenbaum has transformed CPSC into one of the leading safety agencies in the world. Immediately after her  July 2009 swearing in, Chairman Tenenbaum established a leadership philosophy aimed at making the agency more accessible and transparent; making education and advocacy a priority; and being firm, but fair, in enforcing safety laws and working to keep unsafe products out of the hands of consumers. In October 2010, Chairman Tenenbaum announced a new five-year Strategic Plan (2011-2016), which set forth a twenty-first century mission and vision for CPSC. The Strategic Plan has made CPSC more proactive, more focused on injury prevention, and moved the agency closer to being the recognized global leader in consumer product safety…

The release goes on with a long list of accomplishments in office. For which I congratulate her, and thank her for her service.

It will be nice to have her back in South Carolina…

19 thoughts on “Inez announces she’ll step down as CPSC chief

  1. Steven Davis II

    So what exactly did she accomplish while in DC? Just another appointed position filled by someone with no experience doing what the agency is responsible for doing.

  2. Steven Davis II

    I wonder if she and her husband are hoping for another hurricane to devastate part of the country so they can bus welfare recipients to SC and they can stand in the bus doorways and hand out prepaid Visa cards for the transients to use at our local strip clubs.

    1. Juan Caruso

      SD II, I had been wondereing the same throughout I.T.’s tenure. Whatever she really may have accomplished, it pales in comparison to what a real safety professional (versus another factotum lawyer appointee) could have.

    2. JesseS

      I thought the NYC homeless wandering around were from a decision by the Bloomberg administration starting back in ’09. One guy told me his ex-wife’s sister’s kid lived here so that was a strong enough connection for sending him “home”. Another said someone handed him a list of cities in the SE and he picked Columbia at random, sounded better than Atlanta or Greensboro to him.

      Guessing the first few rounds in that program were those new to the city, now the program is in the bureaucracy so, well, you know how that works. Last one I talked to had just gotten out of Rikers Island. Didn’t ask him how they made the connection, I just smiled and slowly walked away.

      Then again I’m just piecing articles from Google searches and whatever those guys were telling me, so even I question the validity of what I said.

    3. Mark Stewart

      SDII, I am sometimes amazed at the stuff you try to pull into your comments.

      How to you get from commenting on a cabinet appointee to the idea that someone is handing out prepaid debit cards to strip clubs? It’s like a bus wreck – though it seems to have made sense to at least a couple of people. I must be slow.

  3. Kathryn Fenner

    I would direct your attention the link for the press release, which outlines the many accomplishments under her tenure.

    I also think Sam Tenenbaum’s leadership, especially given the lack at the national level, in the Katrina aftermath was a bright spot in Columbia’s history. I was proud to have been able to help in a small way, but what he did was huge! Heckuva job, Sammy!

  4. Doug Ross

    I don’t think any of us can assess her performance based on a press release written by her office. I could write a press release that would make my work history look like I was a combination of Bill Gates and Thomas Edison.

    But I am a little troubled by the fact that one of the first accomplishment that is noted is:

    Trained 17,000 executive, quality control, and manufacturing professionals throughout Asia

    Are we to assume that our tax dollars were spent to train foreign employees? At what cost?
    It would interesting to see how much money was spent on that effort and who reaped the benefit.

    1. Silence

      Doug,
      Ostensibly american consumers who don’t get lead poisoning or melamine poisoning reap the benefit.

      1. Doug Ross

        How about we just don’t buy foreign products that are dangerous? Then maybe they’ll pay for their own quality training.

        They wouldn’t ship it if we wouldn’t buy it.

        1. Silence

          I think the volume and complexity of foreign junk getting imported exceeds our ability to filter out the bad or suspect products. I’m all for not buying things that aren’t safe, but I can’t independently analyze every product. Nor can I find and buy only American made items for my home, as nice as that might be.

        2. Steven Davis II

          Doug, if we do what you’re suggesting that would mean several government jobs not being created or funded.

Comments are closed.