It’s hard to fathom innovation coming from D.C. Council Chairman-elect Kwame Brown’s transition team. Several members have been around the block a few times and inside city hall for decades, trying to influence people and policies.
For example, Rod Woodson, a partner with Holland & Knight and a registered lobbyist, has testified at many public hearings and worked as a general counsel for the city’s Housing Finance Agency. He will lead the transition committee charged with evaluating council organization and rules; its recommendations could affect Woodson’s law practice, which focuses on “administrative, regulatory and legislative” affairs in the District.
Is that a conflict of interest? Brown said no.
It’s amazing the things we can’t see when we close our eyes.
Brown said he has “all the confidence” in Woodson, who has served in previous transitions. Translation: No one complained before, so don’t start crying foul now. Further, said Brown, “They are not telling us what to do.”
I’m not knocking experience. But far too often the folks with so-called experience have never operated outside the District. They have developed a compendium of “best practices” but know little about implementing them. The challenges facing the District mean elected officials and managers will be forced to cut spending while keeping the city moving forward. Under such circumstances, innovation becomes the prime directive.
Brown said he has scheduled meetings with representatives from other state and local legislatures to discern which policies or practices can be imported to the District. He also cited his decision to create a Budget Advisory Council as one example of his willingness to do things differently. “Plus, I think I’ve been known to bring some innovation, I’m not going to stop,” he added.
Gregory McCarthy, transition chairman and a vice president for the Washington Nationals, later told me the team’s structure departs from previous transitions. There’s a committee for nearly every council function — from organization, to policy initiatives and public engagement.
“We wanted to get into the weeds,” said McCarthy. He noted the public engagement committee won’t simply look at the council’s Web site and links, “but the whole world of Twitter, apps and other online stuff. This will be one place — though not the only — where innovation comes forward.”
McCarthy said the transition team would help provide resources and ideas for solutions to problems. “Things will be poised to kind of go where [Brown’s] going.”
Brown didn’t provide details on council committees or even how he intends to address the city’s looming fiscal crisis. But it was clear by the confident demeanor he displayed and his strong language about “making tough decisions” he doesn’t intend to be timid or to stand in the shadow of his former colleague who’s moving to the mayoral suite.
“I believe in an equal branch of government,” he said. “I know Mayor-elect Gray believes in the same thing.”
The transition team’s recommendations could provide clues for how that “equality” thing ultimately plays out.
Jonetta Rose Barras’s column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
Jonetta Rose Barras’s column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
