June 1, 2005
Off to the Races!
Fenty made the announcement, never much of a surprise, this morning, surrounded by friends and family at his childhood home in Mount Pleasant. Fenty has been twice-elected to the City Council, and currently serves as a the chairman of the Committee on Human Services, which has oversight over the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, Child and Family Services Administration, Department of Human Services, and Office on Aging. Fenty has been applauded for his attention to constituent services, while D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams recently doubted whether Fenty would be the best man for the city's top job:
Accomplishment and substance and political ability, they're not mutually exclusive. But they don't always come together in the same package. Someone can be a great candidate. They can be a nice person. But they may actually not be the best person to actually run this city.The rest of the mayoral field is still the subject of city-wide speculation, though a variety of D.C. politicians and insiders have indicated interest in taking the helm of city government or established exploratory committees of their own.
DCist will continue reporting on the 2006 race for mayor.
The image above comes from Fenty's newly established campaign site.
|
Advertisement: DCist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
First in the race, last at the polls.
Fenty has fooled himself, and a handful of pie-in-the-sky devotees, that he's ready to take on the difficult job of Mayor.
Anyone want to buy a bridge?
Well as a resident of his neighboring ward, I've seen his accomplishments and would love to see him run. So far he would have my vote!
D.C. needs a good mayoral race. Looking forward it.
Fenty does not have the experience of achieving things neccessary to be a good Mayor. His elected experience has been a book in how to prevent things from happening.
Fenty will undoubtedly court the Marion Barry vote, which is easily fooled by style over substance.
He needs at least 10 more years of political experience before he is anything more than laughable.
I beg to differ with some of these comments. I've seen what Fenty has done in Ward 4 and I am most appreciative to him.
I'm waiting for FENTY to EXPLAIN how he CAN DO MORE FOR DC THAN HE'S DONE for GEORGIA AVENUE.
While most of NW Washington had benefited from the "good times," Fenty's Ward Four stretch of Georgia Avenue remains a dump.
FENTY is LONG ON DREAMS but SHORT ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
I love all the check cashing places in my neighborhood along Georgia Ave.
DC needs a young, inexperienced mayor like the world needed George W. Bush.
God help us; Fenty won't.
I'm an undecided voter who's fairly happy with the way things are going in DC. In the past, I supported Williams but would consider another viable candidate.
Having said this, I just don't see what makes Fenty viable. He always comes across as a flashy politico who wants to take credit for everything rather than somebody who actually accomplishes things. Things are better in Ward 4, but they're also better throughout the city. Why should Fenty get credit for those improvements?
Just one person's thoughts....
Fenty has one thing that neither Mayor Williams nor the other non-Councilmember potential candidates have -- a strong link to grassroots civic groups.
I generally like what Williams has done, but am ready for someone new. Williams' two strongest weak points have been his inability to connect with people and appointing horribly inept people to various city agencies (current or past heads of parks & rec, police, city inspector, etc. come immediately to mind).
Williams has basically fiscally rescued the city and put the budget and business climate in a strong enough situation where it can basically run itself, short of Barry-like mismanagement.
Fenty's attention to the grassroots will fill one of Williams' weaknesses, and hey, maybe even his short time in office will mean he has fewer favors to pay back through appointments to the highly connected but underqualified.
Plus, considering the remaining candidates, Fenty and Jack Evans are the only Democrats who I see NOT sharing one of Williams' major faults. Orange would appoint incomepetents, and Cropp, Bolden, and the others are too tone-deaf to local civic groups.
One thing is for sure, we have 15 months to argue this one, the mayoral primary is over 15 months away.
I like Fenty, his community roots and his emphasis on middle class concerns. Williams has been a good, perhaps great, Mayor. Before he took office, city services barely functioned. But Williams has done a lot more for downtown business and yuppies in the "in" neighborhoods than for the rest of DC. So far, it looks like Fenty wants to restore a balance.
The dynamics of the Mayor's race will be determined by Williams -- if he runs for a third term or not. It's also a big question mark if Linda Cropp runs. At least Fenty is not letting that decision determine his plans, he is running no matter what.
Everything he takes credit for is actually an accomplishment of the mayor. His website merely links people to Williams website. And his one idea about more money for schools is pretty stale.
I read the other comments and want to point out a few things. One measure of any political leader is that the people who they serve either like or dislike the job that leader is doing. In Ward 4, Fenty faced no opposition and only 334 people voted against him in his reelection; out of 60000+ residents. Clearly, 99% of the people of Ward 4 are happy and satisfied with his performance.
As to the critics on the face of Georgia Avenue I have to laugh thinking back to the Announcement that former Ward 4 Councilmember Charlene Drew Jarvis made in 1996 when she ran for reelection and vowed to fix the Avenue and bring businesses there with the help of the Mayor. It is a lot tougher problem to fix the longest street in DC and it is better now than it was 4 yeas ago.
Fenty will bring a new, more neighborhood-focused approach to continuing the rebirth of the city. Also, his plan to rebuild and build new schools is not stale, but sorely needed. Since I have two children in the system I can attest to the overall poor condition of the schools and that fixing the buildings should be a top priority; well above the building two publicly financed stadiums. Visit www.fixourschools.net to learn more.
Finally, I support him because we need an engaged, smart, energetic Mayor focused on the needs of the neighborhoods, rather than out of town travel, commuters, suburbanites who love baseball and other special interests.