Last year with the upheaval in the automobile industry caused by the bankruptcy and government seizure of GM and Chrysler, the Obama regime appointed Ed Montgomery (then Dean of the University of Maryland College of Behavioral and Social Sciences) as the Executive Director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers (W.H.C.A.C.W.). One of the factors which led to Montgomery's selection was undoubtedly his experience in holding a highly compensated public sector job with an absurdly long title. There truly is no substitute for experience.

In his official capacity as Executive Director of the W.H.C.A.C.W., Mr. Montgomery traveled to Wisconsin last Friday to meet with local officials and workers in the hard-pressed cities of Janesville and Kenosha. Montgomery listened intently, took notes and promised to work to provide assistance for the beleaguered communities.

Janesville continues to grapple with the devastating effects from the closure of it's GM assembly plant and Kenosha is facing the loss of several hundred jobs as Chrysler prepares to cease production at their engine facility this fall. These are trying times for auto-workers in the rust belt as they are watching their livelihood disappear.

Faced with the long and difficult road ahead in providing training and support for the throngs of displaced UAW laborers, Ed Montgomery has been hard at work developing an action plan which will rescue his flagging career and return him to the safe haven of academia. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that.

The White House made it official on Monday, saying Montgomery would become the dean of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute on Aug. 15.

"It's kind of ironic, isn't it," said Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman, who spend weeks planning Friday's 90 minute meeting with Montgomery and other federal officials to talk about the future of a city that will soon be losing 600 jobs and a Chrysler engine plant.

[...]

"My understanding is that the office itself will continue but under different leadership," said Robert T. Borremans, executive director of the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, which works to help jobless workers, including former employees at the GM assembly plant in Janesville, transition to new careers.

[...]

Bosman said it was important to both Kenosha and Janesville that a new director be appointed as soon as possible. The engine plant in Kenosha is scheduled to close Sept. 30.

"Time is of the essence for us," he said. "Anything that would set us back now is problematic."