Breakfast links: Failures of leadership

by Erik Weber • February 22, 2011 8:42 am

Photo by timtom.ch on Flickr.

Will mayor, council face austerity?: With DC residents on the hook for so many Lincoln Navigators, when it comes time to close the budget gap, will leaders cut some of their own perks while slashing services? ... Kwame Brown now says he wants to return his Navigator. (DCist, 14th & You, WAMU)

MWAA has board problems, too: The airports authority has its own governance problems, including at least one absentee member; Rep. Frank Wolf has asked for the GAO to audit MWAA. (Post, Examiner)

Straighter is not safer: It turns out the straight section of the Beltway are the most dangerous. Keep that in mind next time a highway department says it wants to straighten a road "to be safer." (Examiner)

ICC opens officially, real opening delayed: Governor Martin O'Malley and USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood opened the first segement of the ICC, hailing it as Maryland's greenest highway. Due to weather, the new highway won't be open to drivers until Wednesday. (WUSA, WAMU)

Alexandria unsure on new schools: Citing current overcrowding and anticipated growth, Alexandria Superintendent Morton Sherman wants to build 4 new elementary schools. The City Manager only budgeted half of Sherman's request, though. (WAMU)

Fairfax considers more mixed-use in Tysons: Developer Cityline Partners has filed and Fairfax County has accepted an application to rezone 40 acres near the future Tysons East metro station to allow mixed-use residential, office and hotel space. (DCmud)

Where should WeBike?: WeBike, the bike sharing system that doesn't use stations and launched at UMD last year is trying to decide where to go next and whether to charge fees for usage. (Business Rx)

DC will hurt if fed shuts down: Rank-and-file federal employees and the small businesses that rely on them may be in trouble if Congress doesn't reach an agreement this week on a spending bill and forces the federal government to shut down. (WUSA)

And...: Megabus is adding more buses to Philly, and dropping the White Marsh stop on many of its NYC-bound buses. (Dr. Gridlock) ... Transportation Nation's audio documentary Back of the Bus about race, inequality and transit is now available online or for download. ... Much like DC, even in a strong real estate market, San Francisco still struggles to improve blighted sections. (Post)

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23 comments

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Erik Weber has been living car-free in the District since 2009. Hailing from the home of the nation's first Urban Growth Boundary, Erik has been interested in transit since spending summers in Germany as a kid where he rode as many buses, trains and streetcars as he could find. Views expressed here are Erik's alone.

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Mr. Brown is a disgrace. I was amazed when the people elected him to office after reading his financial issues. Why is anyone surprised about his latest tryst. Of course he cannot get out of the lease without a penalty, everyone knows that. So the noble thing to do is to pay for it himself, of course he's not going to do that. He'll just complain that this latest is someone's fault other than his. So how many Navigator's does he now have parked in front of his house?

by TYB on Feb 22, 2011 10:00 am • link • report

Returning the Navigator(s) will likely trigger penalties for early termination of the leases. If Mr. Brown wants to set a fiscal example for the city, he can take the lease payments up himself.

2 Navigators, at 1,900 a month each, for the year comes to $45,600. I believe the council chair draws a salary of $190,000 a year.

by Alex B. on Feb 22, 2011 10:33 am • link • report

@TYB, Alex B: CM Brown assuming financial responsibility for the SUV? Sounds good to me. I also find it completely acceptable for the DC government to provide him, in stead, with a fully-loaded SmarTrip card.

by Amber on Feb 22, 2011 10:38 am • link • report

^and a CaBi membership.

by Tina on Feb 22, 2011 10:50 am • link • report

@Alex B.: I assume the penalty to break the leases is less than the cost to continue the leases. Brown should break the leases and pay that penalty himself.

by Tim on Feb 22, 2011 11:13 am • link • report

@Tim

I would assume that as well. I only bring it up because it seems like Mr. Brown would like to get rid of these cars as fast as he possibly can, when doing so might not actually be the most fiscally prudent way out of this situation.

@Amber

SmarTrip, fully loaded. Nice.

by Alex B. on Feb 22, 2011 11:17 am • link • report

The idea of Kwame paying for the leases himself or paying the penalty for breaking the leases assumes he has the money to do so.

Given his publicly-known financial issues, it could very well be that he can't afford to pay for the leases for the two SUVs, in addition to the Navigator he owns, and his other vehicles.

And this is the guy in charge of reviewing and approving the city's budget?! Unbelievable.

by Fritz on Feb 22, 2011 11:44 am • link • report

The timing for this lease story is somewhat amusing, since yesterday was the first of four "furlough"* days for all DC employees.

*The furlough is bullshit. All of the furlough days are actually paid holidays, so it's not like employees are getting a workday off in exchange for not being paid. It's really a just 1.5% current year pay cut.

by jcm on Feb 22, 2011 11:48 am • link • report

PG County is dangerous, why would the highways be any less?

In all seriousness, I'd like to know whether there is a higher accident rate among those who are local vs out of town, because those traveling "thru" DC would be taking that route.

When I travel 95, I see some crazy stupid speeds on the highway, especially between Baltimore and the split.

Combined with those crazy speeds I see some crazy moves. Crossing over multiple lanes to pass people, passing too close, etc.

I would imagine that most of the people going super fast and being dangerous are local, as in long distance trips generally you don't drive like a racecar the whole time.

by DCArea2 on Feb 22, 2011 11:57 am • link • report

The Gov shutdown is much ado about nothing. Just like last time, Federal employees will get backpaid. There was too much harranguing last time around by Republicans and Democrats about the millions of gov employees in their districts that were being affected.

This will in effect, be just like '95. A nice paid vacation for federal employees.

The retailers in DC that depend on the lunch crowd will be affected, by how much remains to be seen.

And regarding the whole Brown thing. This is where I tell everyone "I told you so".

The mans personal fiscal history resembles an gambling addict locked in a Vegas casino. He can't balance his own puny (relative terms to city budget) finances that cover him and ~two other people. How in the world was electing him to the council chair and putting him in charge of billions of dollars covering 600K people going to make him any better?

I mean really folks, The people who voted for him were either purposefully ignorant or blindly trusting in the face of a long history of fiscal shenanigans.

by freely on Feb 22, 2011 12:14 pm • link • report

@freely -- who would you have backed for council chair?

by Kate on Feb 22, 2011 12:18 pm • link • report

@ freely:Just like last time, Federal employees will get backpaid.

Good for them. Government contractors won't though. At least, they weren't last time. They are among the high earners in the area. Without pay, they will hurt, as will all the places where they spend their money. Also, lunch places, and WMATA will suffer when the Feds get off.

by Jasper on Feb 22, 2011 12:41 pm • link • report

@Kate,

Orange. Neither choice was awesome, but atleast Orange had some senior level management experience and didn't have a decade and a half of continuous fiscal faux-pas's on his record.

Jasper,

Whether or not the fed contractors get paid isn't up to Uncle Sam, its up to their employers. I had 3 friends at the time, all working as contractors (one at Boeing, one at SAIC and another at Deloitte) who all got paid. No, the gov won't reimburse the contracting companies for their employers time, but the only contractors who won't get paid are working for some seriously craptastic companies.

Of the hundreds of thousands of contractors in the region, the bulk work for 5 or 6 companies who are all large multinationals who I will bet will simply pay their employees.

by freely on Feb 22, 2011 12:54 pm • link • report

@freely:

Orange. Neither choice was awesome, but atleast Orange had some senior level management experience and didn't have a decade and a half of continuous fiscal faux-pas's on his record.

You know, it's funny, I was wracking my brain for the reason I voted for Brown all those months ago. Thanks for reminding me.

by oboe on Feb 22, 2011 1:04 pm • link • report

With a $190,000 salary, taxpayers shouldn't be providing the council chair with a car, a SmarTrip card, a CaBi membership... nothing. He can afford it himself.

by mch on Feb 22, 2011 1:05 pm • link • report

I wrote in Vince Gray for Council Chairman in November. Because he supports streetcars! Maybe! And he's a kinder, gentler leader who is deliberative. Last I heard, he was still deciding which tie to wear to his inauguration.

by Fritz on Feb 22, 2011 1:25 pm • link • report

One of the "high fatality" areas on the Beltway can't really be described as a straightaway. The College Park section, between Route 1 and where 95 splits off, sees a HUGE amount of weaving and merging and diverging traffic...not to mention being slightly curved. It's the weaving/merging/diverging that's the issue there.

by Froggie on Feb 22, 2011 1:26 pm • link • report

@Oboe,

You voted for someone because you liked the fact that he is in hoc to the IRS and a handful of other creditors, lied about breaking campaign finance laws?

So I guess if you lived in Ward 8 you would be a solid Barry voter then too?

Different strokes for different folks. I prefer elected officials who aren't shades away from prison and who reflect the lowest common denominator and are shining examples of personal and professional failure.

by freely on Feb 22, 2011 2:19 pm • link • report

Anyone happen to notice that the operators of the PlanIt Metro blog deleted one of their posts with no explanation? It was the one titled "RTSP Rail Enhancement Strategy: Interline Connections and Station Improvements." Perhaps there was some info in there than some power-that-be didn't want out?

by Dizzy on Feb 22, 2011 2:48 pm • link • report

Interesting- the portion of the Beltway in question is that which serves as 2 highways, I-495 AND I-95. Perhaps it would have been safer if DC 95 had been or is constructed as it should (by the PEPCO-New Hampshire Avenue-Eastern Star-B&O-CUA route)- but with our plutocracy, and the hold the finger to the wind types, few will dare ask what if?

by Douglas Willinger on Feb 22, 2011 4:53 pm • link • report

@ freely: I had 3 friends at the time, all working as contractors (one at Boeing, one at SAIC and another at Deloitte) who all got paid.

I'm hearing differently from folks working as contractors at the time.

Of the hundreds of thousands of contractors in the region, the bulk work for 5 or 6 companies who are all large multinationals who I will bet will simply pay their employees.

Sure, cuz Boeing is doing so great and has loads of cash available. SAIC has since gone public, which means it will have to choose between stock-owners and employees. Last time, those stock-owners were the employees.

No, the gov won't reimburse the contracting companies for their employers time,

And you think those billions not paid will not be felt?

by Jasper on Feb 22, 2011 9:38 pm • link • report

@freely:

You voted for someone because you liked the fact that he is in hoc to the IRS and a handful of other creditors, lied about breaking campaign finance laws?

With the former you've just described 85% of the American people; with the latter, 100% of American politicians.

by oboe on Feb 24, 2011 11:53 am • link • report

I'm with Amber, as far as I'm concerned the only transportation provided to council members at the tax payer's expense should be "a fully loaded SmarTrip card and a CaBi membership" haha
They can use their own cars or cabs if they need to... there's no logic in having all these city-leased cars given out like conference swag! I don't want my tax dollars being used this way when there are plenty of other areas that need to be addressed with city spending!
I voted for Gray because I didn't like Fenty's arrogance and self-serving attitude... but if Gray is going to let the Marion Barry-era cronism come back into style then you better believe I will be voting him OUT next time around!

by Matt3470 on Feb 25, 2011 10:30 am • link • report