In a town where motorcades are less a spectacle and more an annoyance, Mayor Adrian Fenty’s modest security detail has never raised many eyebrows. But now Fenty has done away with it altogether — and no one really knows why.

According to a Post report, Fenty has decided to ditch the police security detail and drive himself around during the month of August instead. And beyond simply shedding daily armed protection, Fenty has also been left to fight for parking as he goes about city business. His rationale? “Because I have a driver’s license,” according to the Post piece.

But others see a number of reasons, first among those his image. Fenty ran as a man of the people, and nothing further separates an elected leader from his constituents than a convoy of tinted-window SUVs and conspicuous bodyguards. And it was only months ago that Fenty came under fire for allowing his convoy to use their emergency lights all too liberally to weave through D.C. traffic. DC Watch’s Dorothy Brizill identifies another, less obvious reason — mayoral Big Brother Michael Bloomberg takes the subway to work, adding heft to his “Mayor of the People” image.

Whatever the reason, we applaud Fenty’s decision. If even for a month, his choice to commute like the rest of us — well, those of us driving a Ford Expedition — means that he’s hasn’t completely lost touch. Sure, security is a concern, but there’s no reason that his detail — should he decide to keep it — can’t ride shotgun or in the back seat. But to really be the man of the people he’s always claimed to be, we’d love to see Fenty stand in line with the rest of us at the DMV when it comes time to renew his license. Or better yet, start taking Metrobus to work.

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