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Federal prosecutor Eileen Decker, chief of the national security section in the local U.S. Attorney's office, is joining the Villaraigosa administration as deputy mayor for homeland security and public safety. She's been a law clerk to to U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor and worked at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher before going federal in 1995. What political portfolio brings her to Villaraigosa will come out in the wash over time, I suspect. She replaces Arif Alikhan, now Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy Development for the Department of Homeland Security. Release after the jump:
LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today named federal prosecutor Eileen Decker as Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety. Ms. Decker is currently the Chief of the National Security Section for the Office of the United States Attorney for the Central District of
California.
"Eileen Decker brings over 14 years of experience as a proven federal prosecutor, as well as building bridges of cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies," said Mayor Villaraigosa. "I am confident Eileen will serve with the integrity that has become the hallmark of her career, and will help further our goal of building safe neighborhoods for every Angeleno."
In her role as Deputy Mayor, Ms. Decker will oversee and advance all aspects of the Mayor's public safety policy initiatives, emergency preparedness and counter-terrorism policy, serve as the principal liaison to federal, state and local law enforcement, and administer over $400 million in federal and state criminal justice and homeland security grants awarded to the City of Los Angeles.
Ms. Decker has over 14 years of experience working in the Office of the United States Attorney in areas of counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, and export enforcement investigation and prosecutions. She brings to the Mayor's Office of Homeland Security and Public Safety experience in law enforcement coordination and intelligence sharing with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
As chief of the Central District of California National Security Section, Ms Decker served as Anti-terrorism Advisory Council Coordinator—coordinating multi-agency international and domestic counter-terrorism investigations and prosecutions. Ms. Decker has also served as a federal prosecutor working on investigations and appeals of numerous criminal cases, with a focus on terrorism prosecutions.
Since joining the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1995, Ms. Decker has also served as Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime & Terrorism Section and Organized Crime Strike Force. Ms. Decker began her legal career as a Judicial Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor in Santa Ana, California, before joining L.A. based firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher where she was responsible for
general business litigation matters in state and federal courts and Pro Bono cases.
Ms. Decker replaces Arif Alikhan, who was appointed Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy Development for the Department of Homeland Security.