Sestak has bad rep with staff, paper reports - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Sestak has bad rep with staff, paper reports

Former Navy Vice Adm. Joe Sestak, now a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, has a reputation as a “temperamental and demanding boss,” The Hill newspaper reported Tuesday — qualities that led to his firing from a top Navy post two years ago.

Since he was sworn into Congress in January, 13 of his staffers have quit, including his chief of staff and three press secretaries — a high attrition rate even for time-intensive and stressful jobs on Capitol Hill, The Hill newspaper said. His staff members are expected to work seven days a week, including holidays, go months without a day off and “often” work 14 hours per day, according to the newspaper. The Hill article said staffers at Sestak’s Media, Pa., district office are required to work 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and work part of the day Saturday.

A staffer in Sestak’s Washington office told Navy Times that about six staffers work at each office. It is unclear whether the departures were all from the Washington office or were from the district office, as well.

The retired admiral told the newspaper that he didn’t think anything was wrong “systemically” with the high number of staff departures, explaining that he is “trying to create an environment that requires the same level of effort and effectiveness” that is typical of the military.

On his first day on the job in July 2005, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen fired Sestak from his job as deputy chief of naval operations for warfare requirements and programs. The reason cited for his dismissal was “poor command climate,” the service said at the time. Sestak was then shuffled into lower-profile desk jobs before he retired in January 2006 as a two-star admiral.

Staffers who spoke to The Hill on the condition of anonymity cited the excessive work hours and Sestak’s temper as reasons why they quit, sometimes without finding a new job, the paper said.

A Naval Academy graduate who served six sea tours, commanding a frigate, a destroyer squadron and the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, Sestak won a highly contested congressional race over 19-year incumbent Republican Curt Weldon. The district west and northwest of Philadelphia leans Republican, but Sestak was able to earn 56 percent of the vote in his first bid for political office.