You heard it here first: The bloom is officially off the rose of the Fenty administration. On Monday, the Mayor held an opening ceremony for the District’s public swimming pools, at which he failed to fulfill our simple request that he make sure somebody did a cannonball. The Examiner was there yesterday afternoon to witness the pitiful display of showmanship where Fenty opened the city’s pools, not with a dive, but with a whistle. While wearing a suit. Could Mayor Fenty have chosen a more staid, boring way celebrate the start of summer in the District? The answer is no. No he could not.

Mayor Anthony Williams, of course, was the man who started the cannonball tradition, turning the opening of the city’s public swimming pools into a media spectacle and an annual tradition we all looked forward to every year for the last eight years. Not only was it always a great photo op, the cannonball signified the then-mayor’s willingness to make himself look like a goofball in front of the entire press corps. It was silly, and Mayors aren’t normally silly. That was a good thing.

Despite teasing us with talk of perhaps having his kids do the dive, or daring NBC4’s Tom Sherwood to perform the cannonball, Mayor Fenty ultimately decided to discard the tradition entirely. You could say that the Mayor’s decision keeps in fitting with his governing style — out with the old, doing things his way, etc. Why should he keep up a quirky annual event that’s so tied in to the identity of his predecessor? OK, fine. But why not start your own tradition, Mayor Fenty? Hosting a carnival at Langdon Park was the right direction, but why not eat a hot dog or an ice cream cone in front of everyone. Or try on some flippers and walk around in them. Have you considered performing a short water ballet? Something, anything to let us know you can let yourself look just the slightest bit ridiculous. We all appreciate the work you’re trying to do to turn around the city’s most troubled areas of government, but when we elected a 36-year-old mayor, we kinda thought we’d be getting someone who knew how to let his (proverbial) hair down. We’re not saying you have go all Gavin Newsom on us (in fact, please don’t). But come on, Mr. Mayor. It’s summer! Let’s go for a swim.