There were signs last week that D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray may have forgotten his own nebulous “One City” slogan — although it is ubiquitous, replacing the D.C. flag as the lapel pin du jour. Still, it appeared poor and working-class families were being banished from the fold with aplomb. Consider as examples Gray’s sudden rush to sell the United Medical Center and his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee opposing federally financed education vouchers.
Gray began demanding the resignation of members of UMC’s board of directors almost as soon as he arrived in the mayoral suite. He sought to push out those individuals who had been appointed by former Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, although their terms had not yet expired. Gray’s desire to get his team in place quickly may have been partially instigated by the fact that his current paramour, Linda Greene, is a lobbyist for George Chopivsky, who desperately wants to purchase the facility.
In fairness, the mayor has said he and Greene don’t talk about their jobs. And he has pointed to credit rating agencies’ concerns about the District returning to the hospital management business. It’s true the District failed miserably in the past when it ran D.C. General Hospital. But Gray’s eagerness to offload the only hospital east of the Anacostia River seems at odds with his frequent lament about the health care delivery disparities in that part of the city.
Some of the same people who rely on United Medical Center also depend on the federally funded Opportunity Scholarship Program. That doesn’t matter to Gray.
“Decisions about educational options in [D.C.] ought to be made at the state and local level just as those choices are made across this nation,” he told congressional representatives. “And we do have choice. In addition to our traditional public education within the D.C. Public School System, we have what may be the most robust charter school movement in the nation.”
Gray knows it will be several years before DCPS is fully reformed. And not every charter school offers a quality education.
The District doesn’t lose by supporting options for poor and working class families. In fact, it’s a win-win. The federal government would fund the voucher program. Further, the District could get additional funds for education if elected officials support the scholarship program. That arrangement was smartly negotiated by Williams, former D.C. Councilman Kevin Chavous and former D.C. Board of Education President Peggy Cooper Cafritz.
If Gray can’t tolerate vouchers, then he should also object to the Tuition Assistance Grant program. Congress also imposed it on the city. Grants are provided to District high school graduates to attend universities, mostly outside the city. Local institutions are discriminated against since students who choose to attend such facilities receive smaller subsidies.
But, don’t expect him to pooh-pooh that program: Many of its recipients are from middle and upper-income families.
It’s one city, Gray style.
Jonetta Rose Barras’ column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
