Clinton’s AIDS Policy Chief Quits, Citing Frustrations

Kristine M. Gebbie resigned Friday as the federal government’s first AIDS policy coordinator, cutting short a term that began amid high public hopes and ended in general disappointment.

“I’ve given it a good try,” she said in an interview. “But, in some people’s minds it was a doomed job--and they never gave me a chance.”

President Clinton accepted the resignation by saying that Gebbie had served “ably and with dedication.” Her departure reopens a search that dogged the early months of the Clinton presidency.

Administration sources described her departure as a “mutual decision” between Gebbie and the White House.

“She had a really hard time and it was weird because she’s articulate and a good communicator. But somehow she was not able to communicate the real improvements we were making against AIDS,” said one Administration source, who declined to be identified.

Early in his presidency, Clinton fulfilled a campaign promise by creating the post of AIDS coordinator. The purpose was to bring new cooperation and an overall strategy to the activities of the many federal agencies that deal with aspects of the AIDS crisis--from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Public Health Service and the National Institutes of Health.

Filling the job, however, proved to be difficult. Gebbie was not appointed until six months into Clinton’s term after numerous people had turned down the job.

The selection created high expectations among many involved in the battle against AIDS, particularly because of her previous experience dealing with the disease. But she never seemed to get off the ground.

“She just ran out of any political support or goodwill,” said one AIDS activist who requested anonymity. “She had no support in the (AIDS) community and no support in the federal agencies. She did not consult and she did not bring people in in a collaborative way in decision-making. In the community, she just never hit it off with people.”

Gebbie was widely criticized in April for releasing an AIDS “action” agenda that numerous AIDS organizations labeled as woefully lacking in action, although she described it then only as a beginning.

However, many--including Gebbie--believe the problems she suffered in the job were not entirely her fault.

“This was a position the President promised, and he fulfilled that promise, but the job was not well structured or well conceived or well staffed,” said Dan Bross, executive director of the Washington-based AIDS Action Council.

Gebbie said in an interview Friday that “nobody had defined” the mission of her new post. That lack of definition created “some enormous and conflicting expectations.”

“But now it’s time for this one to end,” she continued. “I’ve learned some things about what did and didn’t work. Part of the problem was the persistent use of the label czar (as some referred to the job), which carries implications that weren’t there.

“In the last little bit, they (the critics) never grasped what this job was--or wasn’t. The turnover will let that definition, or redefinition, happen. It’s a good time for me to make a change, and to make a change in this job too.”

A registered nurse and epidemiologist who once taught at UCLA, Gebbie was a highly regarded member of the AIDS commission established by former President Ronald Reagan, and many believe that she was responsible for countering the extreme views of many of its conservative members. She also served as chief health officer for the states of Oregon and Washington, and as head of the AIDS task force for the American Assn. of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Officials of AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the largest AIDS service agencies in the nation, shed no tears at Gebbie’s resignation.

“I think it’s a good thing,” said Phill Wilson, the project’s director of public policy.

Wilson said he hopes that her successor will have more diverse, AIDS-oriented experience.

“We need someone who has some sort of vision around these issues,” Wilson said.

Times staff writer Bettina Boxall contributed to this story from Los Angeles.