Near Mayor Muriel Bowser has made her pick for city administrator, and it won’t be the guy who currently holds the job. In a press conference this morning, Bowser announced that she’ll replace city administrator Allen Lew with Alexandria city manager Rashad Young. 

“I know we have a big task ahead, and I am confident we have the right person for the job,” Bowser said this morning outside a District government salt dome.

Young, 38, will face a city workforce and budget that are both nearly 10 times larger than what he managed in Alexandria. Young pointed to his experience managing Dayton, Ohio, and Greensboro, N.C., as evidence that he can handle the job, which doesn’t require D.C. Council confirmation.

“I have had a lot of experience in urban, metropolitan communities,” Young said.

Like Lew, Bowser says Young will be involved in negotiating the D.C. United soccer stadium deal. She also promised to bring back some form of CapStat, the performance regime beloved by Bowser mentor Adrian Fenty.

Bowser stopped just short of saying that Lew, who handled school modernization in Fenty’s administration, won’t have any job in her administration.

“I will certainly do all I can to help Allen in his next endeavor,” Bowser said.

Photo by Will Sommer