Would Fenty do a better job if he did nothing at all?

Politics

Would Fenty do a better job if he did nothing at all?

by David Alpert • August 30, 2010 12:44 pm

Many people speculated, incorrectly, about my motivations for writing an article suspicious of Adrian Fenty on Friday. The simple fact is this. By all rights, I should love Adrian Fenty. He's aligned with me on most policy issues. However, I don't love him. Why?

Photo by afagen on Flickr.

Maybe it's the way he seems to show contempt for the legislature, even when they try to work with him. Maybe it's the way he has an attorney general who stonewalls anyone who asks questions about anything. Maybe it's the way he just refused to implement the Inclusionary Zoning law for two years.

Or maybe it's the way that whenever he's personally involved in something instead of leaving it to his people, it's been for the worse. On Friday, I asked why this is the case. Why does Mayor Fenty seem to stand behind every Michelle Rhee decision but not every Gabe Klein one? How does he choose when to intervene politically in a decision of a cabinet official and when doesn't he?

After Friday's piece, a government insider pointed out one counterexample where the Mayor didn't stand behind Rhee either. In January, the administration floated the idea of moving the Duke Ellington School from Georgetown. Many people objected, including co-founder Peggy Cooper Cafritz, and DCPS quickly backed down.

Update: DCPS emailed us to dispute the facts of this case. Their response is here.

Now, maybe that was fine. Officials suggest an idea, people don't like the idea, they decide not to go ahead. If Vince Gray becomes Mayor, that might happen more, since more decisions would probably get run by the community (perhaps in a medium besides the Washington Post). It's appropriate to use community reactions as a factor in the decision, though it shouldn't be the only one.

But what I was trying to put my finger on is, why does the Mayor intervene when he does, and not at other times, like when Rhee replaced the principal of Hardy, also in Georgetown, around the same time? When does he listen to community reaction and when doesn't he?

I didn't feel that his answers to these questions were particularly enlightening or even particularly honest. "Measure three times, cut once"? For real?

Sure, most political leaders have to make political decisions. But in a good leader, the decisions aren't always political, or they're based on a bigger picture political calculus instead of just what some influential people are saying today. In education, he has that bigger picture, but in other areas he doesn't.

Fenty has some great cabinet members, but he's also fired some other great cabinet members because they clashed with him, or some have left because they didn't like working for him. People close to current or former cabinet officials say that Fenty often yells at his people if he doesn't like what they've done. Coupled with his lack of policy depth in these issues, I'm told that makes many cabinet officials constantly deciding based on what they can get through the Mayor instead of what they think is best.

The best solution would be to listen to community reaction and then make a decision fairly quickly based on facts. Listen to reactions and input, and then if the experts are still persuaded it's the right policy, move ahead. If the input has persuaded officials or the dissent outweighs the value, don't do it. This is what Gray says he will do, but many worry he would be long on the listening and short on the action part.

But Fenty's interventions don't follow this pattern. Instead, they follow the pattern of meddling when really powerful political insiders have objections. Developers argued that inclusionary zoning was risky, so it got put on ice. DDOE wanted to push some stormwater regulations, but suddenly Fenty stepped in and stopped it.

Besides North Portal, DDOT also wanted to put in sidewalks on University Terrace in the Palisades. The road badly needed repaving. The road was wide enough to include sidewalks without taking away any front yards. The professionals at DDOT decided on a plan. But suddenly Fenty overrode it. Why here? Does it have to do with one of the numerous powerful people who live on University Terrace?

And then there was the time DDOT wanted to cut back the Circulator to M and Wisconsin, because the Wisconsin Avenue segment to Whitehaven was only carrying 2% of the riders while costing 15% of the operating cost. DDOT made the decision, some Georgetowners complained, and suddenly they found money somewhere to keep it going.

Maybe this is okay. After all, if the Mayor lets his good department heads get their way 98% of the time and meddles 2% of the time, that's a pretty good track record. On the other hand, it's some of the more impactful policies, like IZ or stormwater, that get shelved. Back on the flip side, though, those impactful decisions are the ones that ought to get more consideration since it's a bigger deal to get them wrong.

However, if the impactful decisions get a bigger review process, then that should be a good process, and that's not what's happening. Ideally, Fenty would be in charge of the items like rec centers which should just go ahead, and Gray whould be in charge of the bigger policy issues that need thoughtful and participatory deliberation.

Actually, that's pretty much what we could have had when Gray was in charge of the Council. The Council could have decided some of the big policy questions, and the Mayor implemented them and handled the smaller stuff. It's too bad he took such a confrontational stance with the Council. According to Council insiders, at times the Council would propose a win-win way to work together to the Mayor, and his administration would just do the opposite anyway.

Here's the problem. The Fenty Administration has done a lot of good, but whenever Adrian Fenty himself seems to be involved personally in some way, it's been a poorer outcome. Fenty argues that the role of the Mayor is just to hire "A+ people." Maybe so. And if Fenty basically spent all his time on vacation, or doing photo ops, and never paid attention to actual governing, and also fired Peter Nickles, he'd be a great mayor.

But is there something wrong with voting for someone you actually wish were essentially replaced with a cardboard cutout? Thinking the government is just fine, except for the head? What does that say, exactly?

Update: Perhaps justifying our title of Best News Source Unlikely to Be Distracted by News, this article was originally written on Friday, before the Washington Post released its poll showing Gray in the lead. Personally, I'm not deciding whom to vote for based on any polls.

36 comments

Tags: Adrian Fenty, DC, DC Council, DCPS, education, Georgetown, Palisades, politics, sidewalks, Vincent Gray

Should urbanists be nervous about Vince Gray? Part 5: Who would Gray hire? (Aug 19, 2010)
Does Fenty believe enough in our issues? Does it matter? (Aug 27, 2010)
Experience says vote Fenty, but don't count out Gray (Sep 13, 2010)
Vote Fenty because reform does depend on one person (Sep 13, 2010)
Should urbanists be nervous about Vince Gray? Part 4: What the heck happened with the streetcars? (Aug 17, 2010)

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.

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Sorry, but having a hard time reading this as spurting my afternoon latte all over the computer screen.

David, I applaud you for being honest and sharing your thinking with us.

But isn't the elephant in the room the POLL that shows Fenty is a big big trouble with DC primary voters?

I'm not a fan of horse-race politics myself. It is good to actually understand and vote on the issues and policies that are important to you. But none of this exists in a vacuum, and endorsements count when the result isn't known, not after they are gone.

This WILL be an interesting election. Low-income voters may be under-sampled in the polls, and turnout will be interesting. Clearly higher-income people do better in the turnout, but not even sure that is enough for Fenty. Will he go on and try for a write-in during the General?

by charlie on Aug 30, 2010 12:58 pm • link • report

Yeah, I wrote this Friday, before the poll. It does make it seem a little but of a non sequitur by not mentioning the poll, but I'm not sure how to fit it in since this isn't about the race.

by David Alpert on Aug 30, 2010 1:02 pm • link • report

I think we should all remind ourselves that this primary is not a referendum on Fenty, but an actual choice between two candidates.

Gray's actions should be getting the same level of scrutiny that Fenty's are.

Captcha: waspon ridicule

by pinkshirt on Aug 30, 2010 1:03 pm • link • report

The meme I keep hearing of "Fenty doesn't listen to community leaders" is sometimes accurate, but keep in mind that in many instances that could be replaced with "Fenty doesn't listen to the traditional DC power brokers who didn't support his election." Those are some of the people pushing the Gray candidacy as a way to regain their relevance/power. I worry that a Gray administration would be indebted to the teachers' union and others who are invested in slowing the pace of change.

by Jay on Aug 30, 2010 1:07 pm • link • report

@David; well, you did win that award for least-newsworthy blog. So maybe just a line at the end saying WHEN this was written, for all us suspicious, cynical types.

by charlie on Aug 30, 2010 1:11 pm • link • report

@charlie

If David had to caveat every post to satisfy the conspiracy types, they'd all be twice as long.

by TimK on Aug 30, 2010 1:25 pm • link • report

The detailed poll results are interesting.

Economy has jumped out as an issue in the last month. That might not last as it just been on the news w/ the crazy Republicans making noise.

I don't see how they determined likely voters, and that is the key number.

Also, I don't see a white/black breakdown.

Like all newspaper polls, pretty worthless.

by charlie on Aug 30, 2010 1:35 pm • link • report

David,

This is a much better post than your previous one on the topic. It seems like a much more cogent argument (if one could call it an argument). In fact, I think this is one of the best, most thoughtful write-ups on the race I've read.

To answer your question at the end, as to what it all means, I think it means (to use your calculus above) that he is a good mayor 98% of the time and bad 2% of the time. Now if you think Gray would be a good mayor 99% of the time, then you maybe should vote for him (though I think the margin of error on that calculation is much greater than 1%).

Now Fenty's lack of policy depth would be more of an issue if he didn't already have a four year track record of picking generally good people to run things. But at this point I think he has results to run on that his governing style seems to work on balance.

by Steven Yates on Aug 30, 2010 1:36 pm • link • report

According to the poll, the election is pretty much over.

I just hope that Gray's last minute embraces of bike lanes and streetcars wasn't posturing -- though I suspect it is.

by aaa on Aug 30, 2010 1:52 pm • link • report

This race is not over. Remember Dewey Defeats Truman, or all the exit polling in 2004 showing Kerry winning, or how the day before the Alaska primary everyone thought Murkowski was a sure thing, or how McCain's campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008 was dead, or the Clinton Juggernaut, or how Howard Dean was going to crush everyone in Iowa or...need I go on. Polls are an attempt to tell the future - and even experts are very very bad at this. When ESPN has its "experts" try to pick the winners of NFL games, they average around 50% (no better than monkeys with darts).

by David C on Aug 30, 2010 1:59 pm • link • report

I appreciate the fact that you finally admitted that you dislike Fenty. I think if you had said that straight out at the beginning of the series of posts on the race, and then (correctly) characterized them as explaining why you don't like him, rather than positioning yourself as if you were a neutral observer, it would have felt more authentic. Instead, the articles have always felt fake, like a partisan pretending to be nonpartisan. I hope you will continue with the new tone and honesty.

by David desJardins on Aug 30, 2010 2:23 pm • link • report

Now let me start by saying I don't have a horse in this race, as I am not currently living in the District proper, but it does seem to me that if Gray unseats Fenty, then the teachers' union pretty much owns the DC School system, pass or fail. And I think that if the old power brokers are brought back, then it will indeed fail. They were utterly unable to do a thing about it when they last held the reins.

by Dave J on Aug 30, 2010 2:27 pm • link • report

And what is this? A Dave convention? ;)

by Dave J on Aug 30, 2010 2:27 pm • link • report

I'm still befuddled by the argument.

Community input is good and Fenty needs to do more of it.

Except that if the community input is something like sidewalks in a low-traffic neighborhood, it's irrelevant and he should ignore it.

Same for community input that didn't like the original Penn Ave bike lanes design - he ordered revisions made, but that was bad b/c it was somehow overruling DDOT's original flawed thinking.

And of course, any community input that doesn't jib with the Gospel of Smart Growth should also be ignored.

The issue with IZ is relevant, to a point. Fenty did take a loooong time to issue regulations. But surely builders had a legitimate concern with the law's requirements in the economic conditions? And even Manna, which is a great nonprofit that also finances mortgages, has significant issues with the IZ law and regulations and their impact on residents who will buy a place subject to IZ. Doesn't that mean that perhaps the Fenty people were honestly trying to get it right?

It seems that David's argument essentially boils down to style over substance in his preference of Gray. That's fine. But it then negates the original question of which candidate would be better for urbanism, since that level of discussion would be focused more on the substance over the style.

by Fritz on Aug 30, 2010 2:33 pm • link • report

Good points, but I think some of the Georgetown-related items need clarification. First of all, it's a small thing but Duke Ellington is in Burleith, not Georgetown. (the temperature of discussions always seems a few degrees higher when Georgetown is mentioned, but in this case it's not applicable).

Second, Evans has been talking about bringing back a Ward 2 high school for a long time. He was the one behind the talk of moving Ellington. And the fact that they backed away from it so fast probably had more to do with the fact that it is just talk at this point.

Finally, it was Evans, not Fenty, that stepped in to keep the Circulator route. Fenty was at the press conference, but Evans is the one who shifted the funds to pay for it. Fenty didn't lift a finger.

by TM on Aug 30, 2010 2:33 pm • link • report

This is even less convincing than your Friday column. You mention instances where Fenty & Co actually did back down in the face of popular opinion. This is upposed to convince us that he's unresponsive? the first time a Mayor Gray does something boneheaded, people will remember where Fenty backtracked. beyond placing Gray, worts and all in the possible light and then being cranky about fenty, it's pretty obvious where you stand, but it's a posture that doesn't necessarily win over those who are the fence. the discussion of who Gray would appoint, for example, completely ignored the performanceof people who've worked for him--did he make good picks? are his current staff responsive to ordinary DC citizens? Unfortunately, much of the pro-gray coverage seems to follow a similar course. fenty has enraged or disappointed many people. I voted for him because i thought Cropp was an empty suit who'd been a round far too long, with too little political courage. It would be easy for me to use my annoyance with fenty in much the same way, except Gray's strength seems to be a willingness to listen that also sounds like it can get more moushy than substantive. A little more substance about Gray could convincingly win over many more people. Despite Gray's lead in the recent poll, many are undecided. Often the undecided vote is mystifying (e.g., Bush v. Kerry or Obama v. Bush), but here you have similar broad outlines, but different style. We know that fenty's style has grave problems, but I have yet to see good illustrations of the pos/cons of Gray's style (other than , perhaps, the streetcars) based on his past performance.

by Rich on Aug 30, 2010 2:40 pm • link • report

@David

Thanks for sharing. I for one, will continue to support Fenty. I think it takes more courage to implement substantial change, especially in a city that has been known for underperforming. Citizens are crucifying him, becuase of his personality?!?! He's not running for student body president?!?! He's running for Mayor!! Frankly, I want my mayor to be bada$$ and get things done. Do you know how difficult it used to be to get a driver's license, much less a tree removed from your yard 4-8 years ago? Do you know how polarizing Marion Barry and his administration was in this city years ago? Is this what we want to go back to???

For far too long, D.C. was headed up by 'feel good' Mayors who patted you on the back while paying exorbitant contracts to their friends. Where was the incredulity by the citizens then???

At the very least, he needs four more years in office before we render a verdict on his legacy. Think of all the elements of D.C. that now exist and weren't here four years ago: your beloved streetcar is progressing (After Gray tried to kill it.), School reform, D.C. receiving funds through the Race to the Top program and recognition from Arne Duncan. Brand new schools, new recreation centers, a convention center hotel coming to D.C., affordable housing and all this while we're engaged in a recession. And with these new developments come JOBS.

The folks in Ward 7 & 8 benefited the most from the dollars being spent on recreation centers and schools. Years ago, I would've NEVER lived in Washington, D.C., now the city has a great reputation. For the first time in my life, I am proud of Washington, D.C.

Everybody likes Gray because he makes them 'feel good'. Well so did, Marion Barry and where did that get us. If Gray does win, let's see how many folks from the Barry administration end up in Gray's. I think Washington residents need to read a copy of "Dream City" to remember just how bad it was back then.

And here's another question, what is Gray's plan for the city? What is his vision? I checked out his amorphous plans online and it came off as an undergraduate syllabus.

At the end of the day, its out of my hands, but its sad to see folks turn off the music because they don't like the album cover.

by Maximillian on Aug 30, 2010 2:46 pm • link • report

You lost me here:

In education, he has that bigger picture, but in other areas he doesn't.

Just because Fenty/Rhee don't do what the teachers union wants, doesn't mean they have the bigger picture. I'm beyond frustrated with the idea that education can be "reformed" by changing management structures and "firing bad teachers," yet every pundit and politician seems to have bought into this meme. What about curriculum design? What about teacher professional development? What about the idea that education is more than preparing students for DC-CAS?

by NemaVeze on Aug 30, 2010 2:49 pm • link • report

David D: I'm honestly torn on the issue. I don't like Fenty as much as I should and like Vince Gray more than many people, but at the same time, Fenty has implemented mostly good policies, and Gray has a lot of question marks.

by David Alpert on Aug 30, 2010 2:50 pm • link • report

@Fritz,

I'm still befuddled by the argument.

Let me see if I can help you.

Community input is good and Fenty needs to do more of it.

Except that if the community input is something like sidewalks in a low-traffic neighborhood, it's irrelevant and he should ignore it.

That's a mischaracterization. What David said was Listen to reactions and input, and then if the experts are still persuaded it's the right policy, move ahead. If the input has persuaded officials or the dissent outweighs the value, don't do it.

See the difference?

Same for community input that didn't like the original Penn Ave bike lanes design

What community input would that be? AAA. That's mostly people from the suburbs.

by David C on Aug 30, 2010 2:54 pm • link • report

@Fritz:

I got the impression that David thought that Fenty's interventions were arbitrary and capricious (less than there being not enough community input). I get the sense that David wants a defined process for each scale of task and that to be followed, regardless of how rich/influential the people who object are. In fact, I don't think David necessarily advocates a change in course in the face of public opposition so long as "the experts are still persuaded it's the right policy."

by Steven Yates on Aug 30, 2010 2:59 pm • link • report

@David Alpert:

I think what you are going through is what many voters in the District are going through/already went through but were probably unable to articulate it. A majority of people think that there has been positive progress over the past four years yet Fenty is trailing in the polls. There just seems to be something intangible that people are not liking Fenty right now. It's being called arrogance by most but I don't think simple arrogance is enough for most people to walk away from someone who has shown positive results in the past four years. I think there are some race/class issues that are factoring into it, but I don't think this is the right forum to flesh them out (though quite frankly I'm not sure there is one).

by Steven Yates on Aug 30, 2010 3:07 pm • link • report

"People close to current or former cabinet officials say that Fenty often yells at his people if he doesn't like what they've done."

Oh no! Who knows how much emotional damage Fenty hath wrought upon this great city?

by Max B. on Aug 30, 2010 3:07 pm • link • report

Assuming that Gray wins, it will be interesting to see if he will stand up to his hard-core supporters who want to turn back the clock to the era of non-accountable schools and other government services.

by Fred on Aug 30, 2010 7:18 pm • link • report

@Fred Assuming that Gray wins, it will be interesting to see if he will stand up to his hard-core supporters who want to turn back the clock to the era of non-accountable schools and other government services.

While it can be argued that Fenty played a part in fixing (at least somewhat) the school system, he did it by (1) hiring Michelle Rhee and (2) being lucky enough to come in as mayor afterGray and other councilmembers (and the preceeding mayor, Tony Williams) wrested control of the schools from the School Board. As for the other services, I don't know if I see any improvement there that wasn't already in evidence before Fenty came in. And some agencies are actually worse off in terms of how their going to continue providing their services ... especially now that little has been left in the kitty to pay for things. Sorry, I don't mean to beat a dead horse. But it's time we started looking how to correct the mistakes of the last 4 years. We need to stop looking back and start looking forward.

by Lance on Aug 30, 2010 7:29 pm • link • report

There is a groundswell of discontent focused on fenty's persona. And politicians, by definition, are jerks, so how does the persona issue square with this discontent?

ANSWER: fenty (lower case on purpose) forgot his base, hired incompetents (check it out, very few of his cabinet had solid managerial credentials upon appointment), and has an ego and crony links without parallel.

With $82 million in rec construction contacts at issue, the future FBI investigation will reveal that there was much "pay-to-play" emanating out of the Wilson Bldg bullpen. Check out the turnover among his staff....it's huge. They were there one day, gone two days later, replaced by some other youngster who had just moved to the city.

I, for one, never met one who was from east of the river, or Wards 4, 5 or 6, for that matter. They were under 30, inexperienced and wearing knee pads to kiss fenty's ring. The long-time mayoral photographer, a man of 60 and a respected artist, left because he couldn't deal with such petulance.

fenty's paper tiger tour -- where he vows to listen more and be more inclusionary -- will not fool voters this time. It is way too little and way too late for the snarling pussycat that is fenty to change his stripes.

NOTE: What will be of interest in the days immediately after the election is how the WashPost editorialists spin the fenty loss. They, too, will feel the sting of the electorate as their circ continues to plummet.

The blogosphere, for better or for worse, will reap the benefit. I hope your enterprise reaps that dividend because at least you aren't in the tank like the Post is.

by DC from DC on Aug 30, 2010 7:39 pm • link • report

ANSWER: fenty (lower case on purpose) forgot his base, hired incompetents (check it out, very few of his cabinet had solid managerial credentials upon appointment)

These mostly seem like the reasons to support him. I start from the perspective that the biggest challenge to improving local government is, almost always, overcoming entrenched interests and the conventional wisdom. There are almost always people who benefit from the way things are---that's why they are that way. There are almost always reasons to delay or defer or water down change. There are almost always more risks if you want to shake things up. Especially in a one-party town like DC, there are almost always key elements of the local political machine that are more part of the problem than of the solution. "Management experience" is too often a synonym for "what got us into this situation in the first place".

Fenty seems, by all accounts, to have had the chutzpah to challenge all that. Now, maybe he has enough flaws or has made too many mistakes or chosen too many of the wrong people, to be trusted with another term. I am not completely rejecting that idea. But so far I haven't seen much in the way of arguments to support that. If the actual results have been relatively good, as most people seem to say they have been, then I think it's hard to argue that he has exhibited so many flaws that we can expect future results to be bad. If those flaws were really so bad, wouldn't his results so far have been worse? Whereas, I think we can almost always assume that the candidate who's running against reform with the backing of the people who liked things they way they were before isn't going to be the one who's going to leads change. Whether he even wants to or not (which no one seems to know about Gray).

by David desJardins on Aug 30, 2010 10:33 pm • link • report

Fact is, if you don't listen to every communities issue's, you get the boot. Anyone that is really paying attention to DC (politic's),would know that communities, with all of their complexities are what really matter's. Every ward in this city has it's own (complexion) the smart politician's know this. It's when you don't respect this right people consider this a (sacrilege)which is a lesson the Mayor is learning the hard way. The Mayor want's to run the city like it's a business, I suggest he look at some of the more successful one's such as Apple, Google etc.,and see how employee friendly they are. Every business has a (Board of Director's)ie. the citizens, that the (CEO) has to keep satisfied, how do you forget that? Here's where the arrogance come's in, don't try and reinvent the wheel. Always look at the successes and failure's of your predecessor, 101, never gave it a thouhgt, typical juvenile move, (I'm gonna show em who's running this city). Grow up a little more kid.

by another native on Aug 30, 2010 11:39 pm • link • report

Its a very interesting point that you make Mr Alpert, which I find myself agreeing with you, except many of these issues you like, I don't.

I love sports, and I especially have a soft spot for high school sports, and I like the fact under Fenty that just about all of our high schools now have athletic fields, stadiums, for that schools sports, that rival many of those facilities in Northern Virginia where I grew up.

I give Fenty big ups for that.

I also like the under Fenty, even if it was already on the books, the fact I see new school construction, or library and recreation construction. I like paved streets and finally many of these road construction projects are now getting done.

Despite those things, here's what I don't like.

I do NOT like Michelle Rhee...at all. No, I don't have a job in DCPS, never had a job in DCPS, nor do I have kids in DCPS anymore. Many of my anti-Rhee feelings come from people who have their kids in DCPS. I ask you or anyone, if schools are doing so good under her, where is the conga line of supporters, especially Black ones, who thinks things are going great? How does that work exactly, school are good but the majority of parents with kids in DCPS want her out? Seems to me, the many of her biggest supporters don't have kids in DCPS, there is something about her that rubs me the wrong way, and I will be honest that I blame Fenty for that. Also, the same goes for the "city" attorney Peter Nickles, who seems to think he is the Mayors personal counsel.

Where you and I disagree Mr. Alpert, is I am not for a lot of the transit projects on the board, especially where the community does NOT support them. That largely means the streetcar projects but I am also onboard with those who are against sidewalks in their neighborhoods.

I really feel conflicted, because I am one of those Blacks, who if I could vote in the primary (I'm No Party) might have voted for Fenty for the some of the reasons above, but I definately wouldn't vote for Gray. But if a Mayor Gray means he is going to listen to the communities wishes, over others from outside a community who are lobbying for certain projects, I will hold my nose and give Gray a chance.

by Christopher on Aug 31, 2010 12:02 am • link • report

I didn't feel that his answers to these questions were particularly enlightening or even particularly honest.

And yet you feel Gray's answers were both of these things?

Really...?

by J.D. Hammond on Aug 31, 2010 3:51 am • link • report

Christopher, can you explain why, exactly, you don't support transit...?

by J.D. Hammond on Aug 31, 2010 3:56 am • link • report

This harping on IZ is ridiculous. Launching mandatory IZ in the midst of a housing crisis where developers couldn't get lending and new groundbreakings came to a near halt would be stupid.

My personal feeling is that David is being charmed by all these blogger sit-down with Gray sessions Ian Koski is organizing. David wants access. Access makes David feel special instead of ignored. He's picked Gray over Fenty heavily on that basis then looked for reasons to nitpick Fenty.

Personally, while I enjoy reading this blog I don't want my Mayor have special meetings with bloggers. Let the bloggers go to a community meeting just like anybody else...

by Jake on Aug 31, 2010 8:23 am • link • report

@Jake:

I couldn't agree with you more. Alpert preaches from his electronic pulpit what people SHOULD or SHOULD NOT be doing, but really does nothing himself. Its easy to critique when your responsibility is just to write editorials.

His blogs are often opinionated, rushed and grammatically incorrect. If he REALLY wanted to implement change, he would run for office. At the very least, run for a seat on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

Its worth saying again....Let the bloogers go to community meetings like everybody else.

by Maximillian on Aug 31, 2010 10:50 am • link • report

Community meeting are already about 50% bloggers and not everyone has the skill set to be an elected office holder (good at remembering people's names, being taller than average, etc,...). I think Alpert serves on the Riders Advisory Council and on the Pedestrian Advisory Council - both unpaid. So, that's doing something.

by David C on Aug 31, 2010 10:59 am • link • report

"Grammatically incorrect?" You've got to be kidding.

by aaa on Aug 31, 2010 11:51 am • link • report

With Adrian as Mayor, what's the use in going to community meeting's, he just does what ever he wants too anyway. Oh, I forgot he's going to change. (Please)....

by another native on Aug 31, 2010 8:31 pm • link • report