Many people and institutions, including former Mayor Anthony A. Williams and The Washington Examiner newspaper, have strongly endorsed Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s re-election bid. I add my voice to that chorus. He has produced a distinguished record of achievement.
I endorsed Fenty in 2006. His pledge to operate the government as a business to improve the quality of life for all residents was deep and palpable. Comparing him with other young executives at the similar points in their careers — Williams, for example, or former President Bill Clinton when he first became governorn of Arkansas — I believe he too would make mistakes of style and substance.
During his first term, Fenty occasionally has stumbled. There also have been times I was critical of his leadership style and his decisions. But, I remain a Fenty fan.
Recent polls have suggested there are many others like me. The majority of residents have consistently said they’re happy with the direction of the city. Fenty and his political brand have taken a bruising to ensure their happiness.
Unlike his predecessors, he took on political and union-protected employees who thought they were entitled to government jobs, regardless of their performance. Ultimately, he disabused everyone of the belief that District agencies are where you go to retire. Fenty’s administration struggled to guarantee that police officers did their jobs, ensuring that the criminals who were creating mayhem on city streets were taught they would be caught and made to pay for their sins. He battled an entrenched public education bureaucracy that found no real shame in participating in the atrophy of children’s minds.
Re-creating a notoriously dysfunctional, narcissistic government hasn’t been easy. Fenty has made a bunch of enemies. Don’t believe everyone is upset because he hasn’t been a please-and-thank-you man.
Fenty’s chief opponent, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C Gray, has sought to cast the incumbent as dishonest and injurious to District residents. In a special session with the media last week, Gray told me he believes Fenty has harmed black people.
I was incredulous.
African Americans have been the chief beneficiaries of the more than 11,000 units of affordable housing Fenty has built. Black children are the majority population in the city’s public schools; they have benefited from the introduction of more qualified teachers and better facilities. And African Americans certainly have been well served by a stronger more efficient police department.
Gray also has charged Fenty with vote buying and called for a federal investigation.
Please. This isn’t Fenty’s first tough race. His prior campaigns were against two political heavyweights. Then, as now, he ran honest campaigns.
Gray has knowingly promulgated misrepresentations with stunning speed and deliberateness. Instead of uniting people, he has exacerbated divisions. Some people have suggested to me his behavior is the typical stuff of campaigns. But there can be no excuse for abandoning standards of ethical leadership.
Fenty is imperfect. We all are.
But, if you want to see this city improve at an aggressive pace, are tired of divisive racial politics, and believe meritocracy should reign, then rush to the polls today and tomorrow and vote for Adrian M. Fenty. You won’t regret that choice.
Jonetta Rose Barras’ column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
