Ward 8 D.C. Councilman Marion Barry, who has been censured by his colleagues for his alleged abuse of the city’s contract and earmark processes, is hurting the city in an effort to brand himself as a protector of the public’s purse, his critics say.
Barry routinely invokes procedural maneuvers to delay the approval of city contracts for up to 45 days. Barry said he’s submitting the disapproval resolutions because Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration isn’t being transparent about where the city’s money is being spent.
“We all know … this procurement process is just really not working very, very well,” Barry said at a recent D.C. Council hearing. “They think they can just send anything over here to us.”
But critics said Barry, who was stripped of a committee chairmanship in March when a city investigation found that the former mayor had benefited financially from contracts improperly awarded to his girlfriend, is holding up contracts for no other reason than that he wants attention.
At-Large Councilman David Catania said Barry’s automatic across-the-board disapprovals are burdensome for city staff, harmful for businesses working with the city, and are “wearing” against the rest of the council.
“We all have to cater to him and try and kiss his robe when he adds no value, and the process adds no value,” said Catania, who has butted heads with Barry over a number of issues recently. “Since he doesn’t have a chairmanship that’s pretty much all he does.”
Last month, Barry threatened to hold up the routine purchase of 15 new ambulances because he felt the city hadn’t done enough work to make sure it was getting the best deal. He withdrew his opposition after Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said the move might leave the city’s emergency fleet under-equipped.
Barry has said that his efforts have helped save the city millions and that the mayor’s office has begun taking his efforts seriously.
Other officials at City Hall have said privately that Fenty’s own contract problems— the city has hired an outside investigator to examine city contracts awarded to the mayor’s fraternity brothers — have given Barry’s an opportunity to cast himself as reformer.
“That’s a bunch of baloney,” said Attorney General Peter Nickles, who said Fenty hasn’t done anything wrong and the city’s procurement system is “broken … because of the very things Barry brought with him when he was mayor.”
