The scene last week at the John A. Wilson Building could have come straight from a mafia movie: A lieutenant receives a late-night telephone call and is told to show up for a meeting “the don” has scheduled. When he arrives, others are there, smiling. Without warning, a dozen knives pierce his back. D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells probably thought he had been cast in some gangsta flick, when Chairman Kwame R. Brown announced the Ward 6 legislator would lose leadership of the Transportation and Public Works Committee. Eleven of Wells’ colleagues helped deliver that blow; he has been sent to what some perceive as political Siberia: the Committee on Libraries, Parks, Recreation and Planning.
Brown — and his political enablers — may have believed reshuffling committee chairmanships a surefire way to reassert his control of the legislature. But that so-called stroke of organizational genius was nothing more a pernicious game of one-upmanship, designed to punish Wells, who had the audacity to investigate the chairman’s penchant for ordering luxury vehicles and billing the city. Unfortunately, it has cemented the recurring image of Brown as a petty politician.
I am no die-hard Wells fan; we often disagree. But, there isn’t any disagreement among many residents that he served the city well as head of the transportation committee.
Brown’s expressed pique has disadvantaged the entire District. Relationships between executive branch managers and the council, established during the past six months and critical to effective public policy development and implementation, could be slowed or halted. That could adversely affect needed government improvements.
For example, Mary Cheh, head of the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment, had led the investigation of Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s personnel practices, including his hiring of political cronies. Brown reassigned the Ward 3 legislator Wells’ old job, raising questions about the status of the investigation and possible personnel reforms.
Muriel Bowser has been assigned Cheh’s former post. The Ward 4 legislator now must handle the burden of a high-profile investigation; bring to closure complex ethics reform proposals; oversee shenanigans in the mayor’s office; and continue pushing through improvements in contracting and procurement.
Further, Bowser must serve on the Metro board. Cheh couldn’t be bothered with that — although mass transit issues are key to oversight of the city’s Department of Transportation.
The ultimate beneficiary of Brown’s maneuver is himself. He now has control over economic development, education, zoning and the budget. Every developer or business owner will be forced to genuflect at his door. That might be good for his ego, but it could lead to stalled projects as his staff juggles additional responsibilities in a more politically charged environment.
Unfortunately, another committee shake-up could come after next year’s election — or sooner, if the U.S. attorney’s current criminal investigation of Brown and his 2008 campaign committee results in formal charges or jail time. Brown hasn’t considered that possibility, however. He perceives himself invincible.
There’s a word for that affliction: delusional.
Jonetta Rose Barras’ column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
