REITERATING his call for the ouster of Dr. James Kiffer as federal manager for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Gov. Eddie Calvo has asked the federal court to appoint retired Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson as a replacement.

Calvo withdrew his earlier nomination of Dr. Thomas Barrett, a clinical professor from the University of Denver, as part-time consultant to DMHSA, saying Barrett-Anderson’s retirement “has presented an opportunity” for the federal court to appoint an “immensely qualified” candidate to replace Kiffer.

In a request filed with federal Judge Consuelo B. Marshall on Friday, Calvo said Barrett-Anderson would be a “logical choice” to replace Kiffer considering her firsthand experience working with DMHSA and all other parties on the cases on “fashioning workable solutions to the most challenging proceedings brought to her courtroom.”

Barrett-Anderson, who served in government for 33 years, wrote to the governor back in July indicating she would accept the nomination if it were made.

Barrett-Anderson is a former Guam senator who was serving her second term in the 24th Legislature when she was appointed to the Superior Court in 1997. She has since worn the judicial robe for 15 years until her retirement on March 30 of this year.

Calvo believes Barrett-Anderson would be able to assist DMHSA in the final closure of the permanent injunction that resulted from a 1991 class action.

The federal court placed DMSHA and the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities under federal receivership in March 2010, naming Kiffer and James Casey as federal managers. Casey resigned in January. Court records show the government has been paying the federal management team an average of $33,000 a month since the appointment.

“The parties are in agreement that the continued collaboration between plaintiffs and defense counsel, together with the court-appointed manager, will implement a reasonable plan with a realistic and factually-based budget,” the governor’s legal counsel, Maria T. Cenzon, said in a court brief. 

Such a budget “has yet to be filed in this case by the federal management team – this matter could be resolved in far less than the 30 to 36 months forecast by the federal management team in its amended plan of action,” she added.

Daniel Somerfleck, attorney for the plaintiffs, supported Barrett-Anderson’s nomination, but opposes Calvo’s outstanding motion to reinstate local control over DMHSA and DISID.

In a brief submitted to the federal court on Feb. 10, Calvo said DMHSA Director Wilfred Aflague and DISID Director Benito Servino were both qualified to manage and fulfill the mandates of the amended permanent injunction "if given the same federal resources in place as were given to the [federal management team]" and with technical assistance from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Somerfleck, however, said “neither director has the background or experience in the development and implementation of a system for the residential case and treatment” of people with disabilities.

“At this point,” Somerfleck added, “plaintiffs can no longer wait to see if those in charge of correcting the ongoing failure to meet the amended permanent injunction are able to perform the tasks at hand.”