Contracting scandals continue under Gray administration Re: “Campaign scandals could free Gray from Old Guard,” May 19
The Gray administration’s staff hiring process is just one area in need of closer scrutiny. More oversight is also needed for the city’s process for hiring contractors.
So far, Mayor Vincent Gray has not kept his promise to end an era of contracting scandals by following a law that requires the D.C. Council to review all city contracts worth $1 million or more. Gray is neglecting his responsibility to help fix a broken procurement system that has failed to protect workers and taxpayers from irresponsible contractors and, according to council members, puts “the safety our city and residents at risk.”
Security officers and good-government advocates recently testified at a council hearing to demand that the city sever its contract with school security contractor U.S. Security Associates, which continues to receive more than $17 million per year despite failing drills to detect weapons in city buildings and repeated violations of security and contract requirements.
But Mayor Gray has not sent these security contracts to the council for review, as required by law. It’s time for the mayor to move beyond the days of deals that reward political appointees and contractors’ poor performance.
Jaime Contreras
Washington
Obama’s immigration speech was not well-received
Re: “Obama’s hypocritical rhetoric on immigration reform,” May 14
Listen to President Obama’s immigration speech and you will hear something even more disturbing than mere demagoguery. When he talks about the unfinished fence and enforcement of immigration laws, the largely Hispanic audience responds with sustained booing.
The president overlooked it in his pursuit of political advantage. Some Republican candidate for president could use this response to rally anti-immigration sentiment, but I doubt they will.
I am a high school teacher in Houston, and I understand both the push and pull factors involved in the immigration debate. Texas will have a plurality of native-born Hispanic citizens in the next couple of decades.
However, legalizing their noncitizen relatives or allowing foreign workers to enter the country should be separate from the question of a legal path to citizenship. The U.S. economy can use the increased labor force, but to dilute the concept of citizenship and respect for the rule of law is unacceptable.
Kevin Frei
Houston
Before reforms, immigration failures must be acknowledged
Re: “Obama calls for broader immigration reforms,” May 11
For the past five years, Americans have heard from the government and other pundits that the U.S. immigration system is “broken,” yet in all this time I have yet to see/hear/read anything to explain in detail what exactly is broken and why.
At some point in time, this system worked very well, so I do not take President Obama’s word that it needs to be changed — especially since his version of “change” is about to bankrupt the United States.
Let’s have an honest explanation first before we run off half-cocked to “reform” something before we really know what needs fixing.
Bill Johnson
Alexandria
