By Larry Jones
November 20, 2006

In a November 14 letter to President Bush, Census Bureau Director Charles Kincannon announced his resignation from the agency’s top post, citing shifting priorities and changing family responsibilities as reasons. However, in a November 15 Washington Post article, he is quoted as saying “My perception is that I don’t have the same level of trust that I did a year or so ago. The relationship has changed, and that relationship I regard as essential.”

Kincannon began his career at the Census Bureau in 1963 and served as deputy director of the agency from 1982 to 1992. He also served as acting director on two separate occasions and as the first chief statistician in the Organization for Economic Co-operatiion and Development in Paris. He was nominated by President Bush to serve as Bureau Director in 2001 and confirmed by the Senate in 2002. Kincannon told the President he would stay on as Director until his successor is confirmed by the Senate.

Census Bureau Deputy Director Hermann Habermann, who was named to the position in 2002, also announced his resignation on the same day. He held previous positions with the United Nations’ Statistics Division, Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Forest Services. Harbermann will step down in January.

Representative Carolyn Maloney (NY), who serves on the House panel that oversees the Census Bureau, called the dual resignations “unprecedented” and warned that, “The accuracy of the 2010 Census is absolutely in jeopardy.” She also called on President Bush to move quickly to nominate “an eminently qualified statistician to replace Kincannon.”