The concept of political lame duck wasn’t just rewritten by Congress. Locally, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty also shifted the definition. Even as his replacement announced cabinet appointments, the outgoing pol held court. Fenty extolled the design for a new Dunbar High School. He announced the construction of a new Francis Gregory Library. He opened the new Department of Employment Services in Ward 7. His administration squeezed negligent nonprofit group home managers and reached a settlement agreement with DirecTV. During the weekend, he mobilized his public works team anticipating the season’s first snow.
Anyone who has watched him throughout his tenure hasn’t been surprised he’s pushed to the end, continuing his duties with vigor and verve.
“You can criticize me on many things. But you can’t criticize me on results,” Fenty told me when I met him for a final face-to-face chat at the Highlands Caf? in Ward 4. His demeanor wasn’t any different than previous times during his mayoral tenure. He was comfortable and confident, as he sat eating his usual breakfast of oatmeal and herbal tea.
During his four years, Fenty outpaced other DC mayors: homicides at historic low, closures up; more homeless persons in permanent housing; more improved neighborhood facilities; an increase in D.C. Public Schools population and improved student tests scores.
Fenty went after slum landlords. He closed used car lots that caused blight in some neighborhoods. And stopped unsavory businesses from ripping off black churches and poor residents. His administration bolstered United Medical Center, the only hospital serving residents east of the Anacostia River. He also jump-started economic development projects that had languished for years.
“Opponents say they didn’t like how aggressive and how impatient we were. [But] if I had the chance to do it again, I wouldn’t change anything about that,” Fenty continued. “I can’t stand government that purposefully builds in extra time. So many times people say they want you to consult with more people. But the main people who are pushing that are those opposed to what you are doing. They want to put it on the back burner,” he added.
Fenty was all front burners–at full heat. Sometimes he operated with little regard for who might get burned. In the end, he scorched himself.
“I made up my mind that as long as I was in it, I was going to make decisions not for political reasons but for what was best for the people of the District,” he said. “In many ways that led to my political demise.”
Truth be told, the government was transformed and District residents were better served because of Fenty’s aggressiveness and unrelenting drive. In the process, he also made the city a hip, cool place to live. The Census reported at least 30,000 people became District residents–many in the last four years. “This is a fantastic endorsement of the work we’ve done. ” he said.
Fenty may have lost his battle for second term. But I suspect history will record that he actually won the war.
Jonetta rose barras can be reached at [email protected]
Jonetta Rose Barras’s column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
