Mayor Vincent Gray was visibly annoyed last week when I asked during his press briefing whether he has a 100-day plan for his administration. “Why don’t we have a 200-day plan?” he shot back. To which I replied, I would be happy with that and asked whether it was available. Obviously no one is wedded to a specific number of days. Rather it’s the document that holds importance. Once upon a time — the mayor likes it when I use that phrase — Gray was a plan man.
Raise your hands if you remember those days of tangible, measurable reality.
When, at the start of the last administration, Mayor Adrian Fenty sought control of the city’s entire education apparatus — including D.C. Public Schools, then-Council Chairman Gray was unrelenting in his demand that the executive produce a plan saying what he was going to do with his expanded authority. The legislature hadn’t yet approved the mayor’s request. Still, Gray wanted a plan.
It’s gander time. Where is your plan, Mayor Gray, for using your new authority?
Gray was elected mayor in November. It’s true he wasn’t officially sworn in until Jan. 1. Still, it’s mid-February and most folks aren’t sure where he’s taking them.
He has met with President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, and others. An uninformed outsider might think the District has reverted to its previous status as an agency of the federal government.
Seriously, why all the introductory chats? They might make sense if we knew what Gray intends to do over the next four years. Or is the mayor flying by the seat of his pants?
At the press gathering, Gray said fiscal stability, education reform and job creation were his administration’s priorities. It’s hard to believe fiscal stability is actually at the top of his list, given how he has been spending in the face of the city’s potential $600 million budget gap in fiscal 2012.
Gray promised to announce within a week or two a “major initiative” involving HIV/AIDS. (Which priority category does that fall under?) He also pledged within a week to provide interesting information about school enrollment.
That’s all good, but it’s not enough. Gray has been around long enough to know the difference between themes, initiatives and a strategic plan replete with objectives and timetables.
Taxpayers, like stockholders of any corporation, need to know and understand the executive’s plan. Former Mayor Anthony Williams used citizen summits not only to develop his administration’s vision for the city’s growth and development, but also to secure residents’ approval. Fenty didn’t hold such meetings; nevertheless, he produced a plan with specific goals.
The measure of a leader isn’t just a vision statement. It’s also his ability to produce and implement an actionable set of steps to realize his ideas. Without such a document, residents are left wondering and singing, “Where are you going to? / Do you know? …”
If Gray knows, then he should start sharing — otherwise, people can fairly conclude the answer to the question is a resounding “no.”
Jonetta Rose Barras’ column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
