September 13, 2006
Morning Roundup: Fenty Wins Edition
What a night, eh Washington? If you're like us, you were up late listening to Kojo and Jonetta break down the election results as they came in on WAMU. Our favorite moment of the evening came just before 10 p.m., when Mayor Williams told co-host Jonetta Rose Barras she was crazy to suggest that anyone believed he had waited too long to decide if he would seek a third term. For the record Jonetta — you ain't the crazy one.
But now, on to the election results!
Mayor: By now you've no doubt heard, the winner of D.C.'s Democratic Mayoral primary, and by tradition the shoo-in future mayor of D.C., will be Adrian Fenty, as just about everyone had predicted. The only surprise in the result is how thoroughly Fenty managed to hand second place finisher Linda Cropp her hat — winning by about 57 percent to Cropp's 31 percent, a whopping 26 point margin, means that Fenty has been handed a clear-cut mandate. A result like this likely means the new D.C. City Council won't be able to give Fenty much of a hard time in the beginning of his term, unlike what happened to Mayor Williams during his first term. Instead, we'd predict the Council will be forced to get in line behind the new mayor's agenda. In case you're curious, Marie Johns came in third with 8 percent of the vote, and Vincent Orange carried 3 percent to take 4th place.
Council Chair: Here again, not a huge surprise to find out that Vincent Gray overcame his opponent, Council veteran Kathy Patterson, after he successfully painted Patterson as less likely to be able to be a consensus-builder during the campaign. But Gray too won by a much larger margin than expected, 58 to 42, in what had been predicted to be a close race. This result means that Patterson will not be representing District citizens for the first time in 12 years — had she won, both she and Gray would have served on the council for the coming term, as he would have kept his Ward 7 seat.
City Council: In Ward 1, it's hardly worth mentioning that Jim Graham looks set to serve another term, having had no serious challenger to his seat. Over in the crowded, often chaotic Ward 3 race, as we predicted, Mary Cheh took the seat, with 44 percent of votes cast. No surprises either in Ward 5, where Harry "Tommy" Thomas Jr. took in 39 percent of the vote to claim the council seat, and it's the same story in Ward 6, where Tommy Wells coasted in with a 67 percent victory. And in the only race where DCist predicted an upset, we see that were seriously wrong now that Phil Mendelson has been asked to keep his At-Large seat by a huge, 28 point margin over challenger A. Scott Bolden. We're sure sorry we doubted you, Phil.
U.S. Congress: It's no surprise to find that our crusading Delegate Eleanor Holmes-Norton will stick around for a ninth term, as she didn't face a serious challenger. We were way off, however, in predicting a win for Phillip Pannell in the Shadow Senator race, as Michael D. Brown took the symbolic seat handily, though we managed to get the Shadow U.S. Representative spot, won easily by Mike Panetta, correct.
So, what do you think about the election results? Have at it in the comments.
Briefly Noted: 12 people injured in Metrobus accident ... New sculptures of Washington unveiled at Mt. Vernon ... UVa student dies of bacterial meningitis ... Agitated passenger on flight to Dulles restrained.
This Day in DCist: In 2005 we lamented a lack of quickie lube options in the city and interviewed Mike Doughty. In 2004 we alerterd you to some pandas for sale, and speculated about a D.C. version of MTV's The Real World.
Photo by Flickr user hey-helen.
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Wow that pretty impressive most people have a hard time getting away with voting twice, Rees was able to do it 28 times!
Hey guys, it's "shoo-in," not "shoe-in."
I'm sure 27 of those votes were mistakes.
Jonathan Rees was robbed! A groundswell of voters were disenfranchised! The true Latino cadidate was undone by homosexuals and possibly Zionists! We demand a recount!!
It's Jonetta. Not Janetta.
It think "shoe-in" is appropriate in this context, considering Fenty will firmly lodge his shoe in the DC taxpayers posterior to pay for all those campaign promises.
Glad its over. Now, can someone figure out how to fine all of these bastards for the signs they have left littered all over town?
Damn. I really wish Rees had won just for the humor and attention. Can you imagine that crazy man actually serving in the government?
I sure can, Ben. In Turkmenistan, ideally. :)
Ronathan, you forgot the Communists.
All seven Post-endorsed candidates won.
I'm amazed (and happy) that Mendelson won by so much. Practically everyone had the wrong sense of that race, and he was apparently right not to be very concerned about the challenge.
Also surprising is that every single race was won decisively. Every winner had at least 15 points over the closest opponent (Panetta didn't quite beat Forster by that much, but Forster's votes don't count since he withdrew).
Well, I'm glad my prediction was right and my "protest" vote for Johns didn't suddenly tip things in favor of Cropp.
I gotta say though that the voting experience was joyous in my part of Ward 4. Much better than when I lived in Ward 1. People were happy and smiling and it wasn't complete chaos. It was actually kinda fun.
I think I know some of the people who voted for Rees.
Thomas Shay
Margie Meserole
Juan Sanchez
Sigvald Oleson
Thelma Cumes
Officer Magana
Meyer Lansky
Karen Hoffman
Gloria Gutierrez
Juan Espinal
Bill McGee
Jimmy Crane
James Brockton
Javier Blout
Little Bo Peep
Andrew Dice Clay
Re. Holy Molely
BMF
DCistRob
Michael Corleone
Jesus Christ
Doug Himmel
Cory
Laurie
DCist Martin
Margaret
FKZ
I find myself wondering if the Mendelson/Bolden race was like the Dewey/Truman one, where so many people afterwards said "I didn't think there was a chance in Hell that Truman [Mendelson] would win, but I voted for him anyway because I liked him." I certainly felt that way while voting for him.
Of course, I also felt that way while voting for Marie Johns and Kathy Patterson, so my feelings on the election probably don't signify THAT much.
All hail Mayor Marion Fenty!
I bet half the D.C. business community is lubing up and getting ready for Fenty to tax the hell out of them in order to pay for the promises to all those folks who are clamoring for the crappy days of Marion Barry and a "caring" government.
Did anyone see the 10 news on Fox 5 last night? They proceeded to say several times on the air, "Washington DC your new Mayor is Adrian Fenty." "Adrian Fenty has been elected Mayor of DC.". Now I understand that this is for the most part the truth, however isn't it a bit of an overstatement to say that on the air, when technically it’s not correct to say it? I mean he still does have to win the general election. Say it enough and people won't vote.
Michael, you may be right, but I suspect more people were motivated by dislike for the Republicanish, extremely big-business-friendly, overly slick Bolden than real fondness for Mendelson. Then again, I'm one of the many people who was wrong about the race, so what do I know?
I, for one, welcome our new shaved head overlord.
A few random observations:
1. According to the Post, the voting for Fenty cut across racial lines nicely. That's good news, though I'm not sure if that will last or, indeed, what that actually means. For now, I'm happy to note that and not do any kind of instant analysis (not that I don't have, at the same time, both positive and sarcastic things to say about this).
2. I do, however, remain quite skeptical of Fenty. I don't think the so-called "Government by Blackberry" works (at least at a city-wide level), and besides, my experience of him as a constituent found his attention to basic constituent concerns to be lacking. But, if he's actually able to fix the schools, he'll have my full support. (He'll have to get control of the schools first, a hurdle Mayor Williams wasn't quite able to get over.)
3. On a less serious note, as one who didn't vote for Fenty, but who voted for Williams (and thought he was a very good mayor), it will be nice to not have a sense of responsibility for voting the guy into office for a change when he messes something up. (I don't mean that as a dig -- EVERY politician messes something up.)
Not only did Phil Mendelson win big, he got more votes than any candidate running city-wide. He did this, despite being outspent 3-1 by a candidate backed by the Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce. It's great that a progressive candidate running a truly grass roots campaign can still win in this town.
When will Vincent Orange's sign be on eBay? I'd like to open a gay bar called "Orange" in Shaw and I think it would be perfect.
Fenty is going to be a terrible mayor. All the Bushie signs are there already: inattention to detail, arrogance, inability to articulate policy nuances, lack of track record. He's the anti-Williams, just in terms of ability to manage effectively. I am eager for him to prove me wrong.
Fenty needs to know that many of his votes came from middle class voters that want the basics - an actual proactive police force modelled on the NYC model, that pays attention to quality of life crimes, actual accountability in government (if that means mass firings, so be it).
Yes, affordable housing would be great. But he needs to concentrate on workforce housing. If he decides DC needs more public housing with no accountability, churning out more people that refuse to work for a living and ride their free government ride into a decades-long freebie interrupted only by committing crimes, he'll soon find himself a one term mayor.
Real policing. Decent quality of life (read: less losers in the park shitting in public while police just pass them by, more streets you actually feel reasonably safe on). Real accountability. No more free ride for losers that thought they were guaranteed a do-nothing DC job for life. Address income disparity, but demand actual work and accountability.
Otherwise, Fenty will be a one-termer.
"I voted. Yo, vote!!!!"
Hillman - Unlike a lot of the candidates, Fenty does know where his votes came from. He's not an old school crony (like some people I could mention), and painting him as such is insulting.
"Address income disparity, but demand actual work and accountability.
Otherwise, Fenty will be a one-termer."
Ah, yes. But that assumes our political system demands actual work and accountability. Otherwise, Fenty will just cruise on through multiple terms...
With Gray's resounding victory over Patterson and Mendelson's victory over Bolden, hopefully D.C.'s local political pundits will finally stop presuming that D.C. residents vote our races and not our interests. Good grief: Mark Plotkin, Marc Fisher and the editors of the Post and yes, DCist.com have been railing poetic about "the black vote" and "the white vote" in this town, but look at the results! It's not 1978; it's 2006 and hopefully the pundits will catch up with the residents.
For my part, I'm an African American man who voted for Kathy Patterson and Phil Mendelson.
Phil Mendelson won his third citwide election last night. Sure the "right" politician, Black or White, could have beaten him, but that's a tautology (Ms. Barras and others who mouth such inane things). Phil has run three successful, relatively low budget grassroots campaigns while remaining a fairly principled legislator. We should recognize this accomplishment, not denigrate it.
The Post had it right in saying a vote for hope is a vote for Fenty. He now needs to live up to that, and I believe he will.
So whoever was saying that race doesn't play such a big role in DC politics anymore -- it appears it does. This is what I meant yesterday when I suggested we're going to be seeing some pretty major changes in DC in coming years, as the demographics shift:
Yesterday, voters weighed race, Patterson's three terms on the council and Gray's 30-year career in social services, including four years as the director of the city's Department of Human Services.
Sarah Bowen, a 74-year-old black cabdriver, said that when she cast her ballot for Gray, her decision was based on race. "I guess I'm a little prejudiced. He's black," she said.
Watching the gentrification of District neighborhoods, Bowen said she feared blacks could be pushed out of town and out of office. "I think next time around, we'll have a white mayor. Don't you?"
I look forward to being your new City Administrator. Thanks.
It is "unofficial" Phil mendelson won all 8 wards... actually the BOEE site does not list Ward 3 due to "incomplete results," so maybe Bolden won that. www.dcboee.org.
To the so-called "Stating the Obvious": Considering that Fenty was the only candidate who said he would not raise taxes, it is nonsensical to say that he will be more likely than other candidates would have been to raise taxes. Considering that his mantra is accountability and running the District government like a business, it is silly to say that he is harkening back to the Barry era.
Fenty did not run against Williams, and try to put himself forward as the new Barry (which would have been the traditional, easy way to divide the city and pile up votes from underserved constituencies). Instead he said he wanted to extend Williams's success by being more engaged and holding agency directors more accountable. That is not a feel-good, populist message.
I'm pretty sure Coach Janky Spanky cast his vote for Rees as well.
Email from a friend this morning:
"I just wanted to let you know that Jonathan Rees got 28 votes. No, that's
not 28 percent, that's 28 votes. The winner, by contrast, got over 5,000.
28 votes. I love it."
"Fenty did not run against Williams, and try to put himself forward as the new Barry (which would have been the traditional, easy way to divide the city and pile up votes from underserved constituencies). Instead he said he wanted to extend Williams's success by being more engaged and holding agency directors more accountable..."
As mayor, maybe you're right -- that Fenty will build on Williams' success. I hope that's the case. Having said that, I'm not sure how you could say that the man didn't run against Williams. In fact, his career on the DC Council (other than the much-touted constituent services that I never saw) has been nothing but being the anti-Williams -- the most notably examples being his opposition to Chief Ramsey and the stadium. Now that he's likely to become mayor (unlike Fox 5 News, I actually have some respect for the democratic process and don't regard him as mayor-elect yet), I wouldn't be terribly surprised if he changed his tune on the stadium. So, maybe in office, it will be like he didn't run against Williams. And, like I said, I hope that's the case.
What's also interesting about your comments is that he didn't try to put himself forward as the new Barry. After asking "Which Marion Barry are you speaking of?" (given the fact that Barry's years in office were notably in that he changed his appeal many times), I'd ask: "How do you know?" If you live in the Wards on the other side of the Anacostia, I'll believe you. But, he DID get Marion Barry's endorsement, and I really don't know what kind of campaigning he did there. It wouldn't at all surprise me, given the sophisticated campaign operation and GOTV efforts Fenty had, that he had some pretty targeted stuff geared towards that particularly constituency that might have played up the Marion Barry endorsement. In fact, it would surprise me if he didn't.
I have been involved with the Fenty campaign for a long time, and so I have met with a broad range of people within it. I also have the fortune of knowing, independent of my involvement with the Fenty campaign, a number of respected and capable people who Fenty called on to develop his position papers on various issues, and whom he will rely on to develop administrative policy.
From every piece of evidence that I can see, Fenty is the real deal. His campaign is built on inclusion, best practices, and accountability. It is not built on racism, classism or any other ism. As he said last night in his televised speech, the Fenty administration will be based on a customer service model, not a patronage politics model. This represents a huge shift in how DC politics was done in the past, and is a very good thing for us all.
As for the Barry endorsement, that people speculate conspiracy betrays their own inclinations. It’s a fact that Barry endorsed at about the same late-date as Graham. Why not talk about the Graham endorsement instead? The most obvious and probably explanation for both endorsements is that Graham and Barry both were confident in a Fenty victory.
Give the guy a chance, I think you’ll be pleased at what he does.
Mark,
I think I've made it plenty obvious in most posts that I'm willing to give the guy a chance even though I didn't vote for him in the primary (haven't decided about the general - I may just right in a friend's name or something) because I just haven't been impressed with him as my representative on the DC Council. The test for me is whether he continues the work Williams started, and improves upon it. In short, the test for me is if he turns out to be different in substance than he has been as a Councilmember.
I hope you're not talking about me when you suggest a "conspiracy" with regards to the Barry endorsement. If Fenty didn't take advantage of that endorsement in places like the Ward Barry represents, then truly his campaign organization is not nearly as savvy as I thought it was. But I also know that, with endorsements, there's usually some kind of payback. That's not conspiracy; that's political reality.
Chris:
Sorry you're not a satisfied Ward 4 person. I'm a marginally-satisfied Ward 2 person. I'll note that Fenty's Ward 4 re-elect figures from the past election were much higher (in the high 90's, as I recall) than Evans Ward 2 figures. Evans only got 82% while running unopposed. At that point in time, it seems likely Adrian was far more popular than Jack with their respective constituents. Funny how that is, considering Jack's power and tenure.
About yesterday’s primary, Adrian pulled 68% of the Ward 4 vote, Linda pulled 24%, and Johns got 5% or so. Compare this with yesterday’s Ward 2 vote: Adrian got 54%, Linda got 33%, and Marie got 12%. Now compare with the Ward 8 vote: Adrian got 56%, Linda got 35%, and Marie got 4%. If you look at all the wards, you’ll see that Adrian pulled his highest numbers in yours, followed by Ward 1, and that the rest were about equal in the mid to low 50’s. This is not an election polarized along racial lines.
The test for me is whether Fenty improves and expands on the work and the benefits of the work that Williams started. I suppose this is the test for us all. Of course, we could talk about which work and what the definitions of improves and expands are. My pet peeves are government inefficiency and patronage politics. He talks to these specifically.
Yes, I was in part thinking about you with regards to my conspiracy remark. I'll say, though, that what you wrote ("It wouldn't at all surprise me, given the sophisticated campaign operation and GOTV efforts Fenty had, that he had some pretty targeted stuff geared towards that particularly constituency that might have played up the Marion Barry endorsement.") is much less offensive than I've seen posted on other DCist (and other other) comment boards. Again, you may think this standard procedure, but the vote tallies do not support your conjecture. Given the voting pattern, Adrian doesn’t need Barry any more than he needs any other council member.
Well, Mark, you're far more idealistic than I am about the behavior of politicians.
In any case, Fenty will be learning pretty quickly that in order to get anything done, he'll need a majority of the Councilmembers. In this government, he'll have to deal with them rather than making statements of independence.
I aso thrilled that a**hole Bolden lost. What a colossal prick he is.
He was on 88.5 earlier today (with Gray) and spoke to this. The interview is available online.
The thing about Fenty, for me, is that he reminds me of all those bullshit artists that are in every classroom I've ever been in. You know the type: clearly never reads the assignment, just listens to what others are saying and then pipes in with some seemingly profound statement that in reality is totally inane and demonstrates how little he actually knows about the subject.
But hey, maybe a bullshit artist mayor isn't the end of the world. Maybe he can just go out and talk a big talk and leave it to the council to, you know, actually accomplish things.
Mark: I too voted for Fenty, but I do have my concerns about him. I voted for him because I thought he was the only one that may actually clean house in DC govt, the way Williams started to do.
I truly hope he can see that affordable housing is a terrific ideal that should be vigorously developed, but the public housing hellholes of the past serve neither their inhabitants or the surrounding communities well. Workforce housing should be more than a slogan - it should be a litmus test. If you are willing to work and refuse to do so, the DC taxpayers that are working shouldn't have to support you.
So many of us middle class people voted for Fenty because we want him to actually create a proactive police force, help neighborhoods truly develop, etc. We didn't vote for him so he could pander to people that aren't willing to work for a living, whether they be DC government employees or people sponging off the taxpayer in public housing.
The Post has it right in terming our vote a vote of hope. We share that vote with the majority of people in each and every precinct in DC- I understand Adrian carried each of them, bar none. If true, this is unprecidented. DC has had a mayor "elected" by a majority of people from such broad race and class lines. That itself says something good about us- what we want. It speaks volumes about how we are more alike than different.
I have good reason to believe Adrian is the real deal. This is based on my own research and the recommendations of people I trust. I wouldn't vote for him or give my time otherwise. My main concern is the institutional push-back he will face in doing what needs to be done. The patronage model is strong in DC.
KCinDC, I just want to correct your statement that Mendelson "was apparently right not to be very concerned about the challenge." I have been volunteering on the Mendelson campaign since January. Phil was very, very concerned about the challenge. He worked hard, although usually not in a very visible way to win. For months he attended 3 or more events a night all across the city to meet and talk with people about their concerns. Phil isn't slick or loud, so he didn't generate a lot of heat, but as the results show his progressive politics, thoughtful responses, and grassroots campaigning resonated rather well. I think he did better than most everyone on the campaign had guessed. He certainly did better than I could have imagined.
"My main concern is the institutional push-back he will face in doing what needs to be done. The patronage model is strong in DC."
Indeed, this was a concern among many of us voters who DIDN'T vote for Fenty. Given his inexperience and less-than-stellar record of working with his colleagues on the Council to get things done (as opposed to just saying "no"), I was among those who wondered whether Fenty would become the next Sharon Pratt Dixon. It doesn't help that he comes across as a tad bit arrogant (the most recent reminder of which is his planning a transition before the actual general election -- don't ya think maybe his team could have done that a little more behind-the-scenes?).
Mendelson Volunteer, I was mainly going on my experiences in trying to volunteer with the campaign in the last few weeks. But maybe most campaigns are as disorganized as Mendelson's appeared to be. I did manage to hand out some flyers at Eastern Market for him.
Also, I was surprised to see no evidence of Mendelson or his campaign at Adams Morgan Day, where Gray, Patterson, Fenty, Cropp, and Johns were all very visible. Fortunately Bolden gave it a pass too. But maybe both of them decided there weren't enough voters there to worry about. Bolden also seemed to have a lot more signs around the city a lot earlier, but maybe signs aren't important.
Obviously the less visible campaigning worked. And regardless of my impressions, I'm very happy about Mendelson's victory, and I congratulate you for your work toward it.
Chris:
I'll just observe that you're unlikely to be in any position to offer informed comment on what transpires "behind the scenes".
Er, Mark - I think you're reading my comment wrong. What I'm saying is that any transition efforts the man does BEFORE the actual general election should be done behind the scenes precisely because it comes across as pretty arrogant to make plans for a transition before you're actually elected.
I don't think it's arrogant of Fenty to be planning his transition now. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that the Republican candidate will win in the general election, and everyone in town is very aware of that. It's only prudent to start planning now, both in private and in public.
Chris:
No I'm not misunderstanding you and, no, publicly beginning a transition does not seem arrogant. It seems a basic appreciation of what the DC Dem primaries reliably mean, it seems the first step toward making good on campaign promises, and it’s entirely in keeping with the energetic can-do persona that got him elected in a landslide.
Adrian would be a fool on many levels not to start doing what people elected him to do, and not to let them know he’s doing it.
Well, that's where we disagree. I understand that it's pretty much decided in the primary in this city, but the election hasn't actually occured. A transition in private, it seems to me, would be prudent -- though I know humility is rare among politicians.
OK, so now we've established that the people who liked Fenty to begin with (or at least two of them) think that it's not at all arrogant to begin a transition prior to the election; and people that don't think highly of him (or at least one of them) think it's kind of arrogant to do so.
Where you see arrogance, I see aggressiveness. He doesn't strike me as even a little haughty.
Good -- I see that. You've made it clear that, to you, his actions don't come across as arrogant. But, perhaps you should pretend for a moment that you aren't a supporter of Fenty. Maybe, you can pretend you're a Republican. Or a supporter of Cropp or Johns. Then, you might look at a candidate planning a transition and communicating that clearly to the general public before he's elected in a different light. This is my point -- Fenty, obviously, already has appeal to those who already support him. Of course you're not going to be turned off by an aspect of him that didn't turn you off before. But what can he do to be appealing to those who still have reservations about him?
There's a nice story today (Friday) about how he and Gray and Williams will be working together toward a smooth transition. For those who were worried about the "plays well with others" factor, that ought to be something...