It’s proving to be a long, hot, and truly weird summer for DC mayor Adrian Fenty and his administration. The mayor is facing a tough reelection challenge from DC Council chairman Vincent Gray, who has taken aim at key Fenty officials such as schools chancellor Michelle Rhee and DC attorney general Peter Nickles. In some cases, those attacks have prompted vigorous defenses of the Fenty record. Rhee has declared that if Fenty goes, she’s out, too. But in other cases, Fenty officials have been strangely absent from the debate.
It all started June 28, when Fenty backed out of an education debate organized by the group Young Education Professionals, saying he “couldn’t make it work.” Then last week, Nickles was on vacation during hearings on whether the Fenty administration had properly implemented a minimum-wage law passed four years ago and whether the city should have paid $550,000 on canceled parks-and-recreation contracts to a firm with ties to the mayor.
It’s summer. People go on trips. And during a big political year, people sometimes schedule hearings during those trips to make their opponents look bad. That said, could Nickles have postponed the trip once it became clear there’d be questions about the payments to Banneker Ventures? Could he have avoided commenting on the state of the water to a gossip columnist? Probably. Given the mayor’s problems in his home neighborhood, Fenty and his team should know the simple lesson that the greater part of success is simply showing up.
Just Showing Up
Mayor Fenty and his team are missing important events, sending mixed signals to the city they hope to keep governing.
It’s proving to be a long, hot, and truly weird summer for DC mayor Adrian Fenty and his administration. The mayor is facing a tough reelection challenge from DC Council chairman Vincent Gray, who has taken aim at key Fenty officials such as schools chancellor Michelle Rhee and DC attorney general Peter Nickles. In some cases, those attacks have prompted vigorous defenses of the Fenty record. Rhee has declared that if Fenty goes, she’s out, too. But in other cases, Fenty officials have been strangely absent from the debate.
It all started June 28, when Fenty backed out of an education debate organized by the group Young Education Professionals, saying he “couldn’t make it work.” Then last week, Nickles was on vacation during hearings on whether the Fenty administration had properly implemented a minimum-wage law passed four years ago and whether the city should have paid $550,000 on canceled parks-and-recreation contracts to a firm with ties to the mayor.
It’s summer. People go on trips. And during a big political year, people sometimes schedule hearings during those trips to make their opponents look bad. That said, could Nickles have postponed the trip once it became clear there’d be questions about the payments to Banneker Ventures? Could he have avoided commenting on the state of the water to a gossip columnist? Probably. Given the mayor’s problems in his home neighborhood, Fenty and his team should know the simple lesson that the greater part of success is simply showing up.
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos
Most Popular in News & Politics
Every Bus Line in DC Is Changing This Weekend. Here’s What to Know.
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Bans on Underage Vaping, Swastika Graffiti, Synthetic Dyes: New Virginia Laws Go Into Effect in July
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Speaker Johnson’s Megabill Prayers Likely to Be Answered Before Holiday Weekend, Wrongly Deported Maryland Man Faced Abuse in El Salvador Prison, and We Found Some Yummy Nepalese Food
Pardoned J6er Will Join Ed Martin’s Justice Department Office, Trump Outlines Hypothetical Alligator Escape Plan, and We Have Fireworks Show Recommendations
The “World’s Largest Outdoor Museum” Is Coming to DC. Here’s a Preview.
A Cult Classic of Cannabis Brands Is Making Its DC Debut
The Commanders Wine and Dine DC Council Members; GOP Senator Suggests Tax Language Was “Airdropped” Into Spending Bill; and Trump Wants DOGE to Investigate Musk
100 Reasons to Love DC Right Now
How DC’s Attorney General Got So Good at Double Dutch
DC Council Ponders New Way to Expel Trayon White, the GOP’s Budget Bill Advances, and We Found You Some Tacos With Ethiopian Flair