For all of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s shortcomings, he was on target when it came to putting together a strong staff. You might recall his tour to meet “big city mayors” before he took office four years ago. He reported they all agreed on one ingredient for success: “Hire good people.” And he did, in my book, from Michelle Rhee to run the schools to Gabe Klein to modernize transportation to Linda Argo who tried to fix the dysfunctional permitting system in the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
But his most successful maneuver was luring Allen Lew from building the Nationals baseball stadium to managing the city’s $2 billion school modernization agency. He has been an unqualified success.
Every student and parent of school kids owes Lew. When my kids attended D.C. schools from the 1990s until last year, the buildings ranged from disgusting to dangerous. Roofs leaked, bathrooms overflowed, floors buckled, mold ruled the basements, windows rattled, furnaces failed and fields were wastelands. Lew and his team cleared work orders, built brand new schools and refurbished others. They fixed in three years what the school system had allowed to fester for 30.
So when incoming Mayor Vincent Gray named Lew as his city administrator, I thought: “inspired move.” Brave, too. There are those in Gray’s camp who would rather not keep any Fenty folks. Gray was smart to give the day-to-day running of his government over to Lew.
Allen Lew is a tough guy. Ask any contractors who have sat across the table from him. His message was: Do the work or get off the job. Period. No backing and filling, unless you’re working a back hoe. Do the work, do it well, or get off the job. He’s fearless. He’s been able to work in relative obscurity. He never sought media attention. He never hungered for a bigger, better job.
In political terms, he was Switzerland, between the warring states of Fentyland and the D.C. Council. He worked for Fenty yet reported regularly to the council. In that war zone he was able to build a relationship with the council, especially Chairman Gray, continue to satisfy Fenty’s need for speed and many ribbons to cut.
Keep in mind that when Fenty’s contracts to rebuild parks and recreation centers blew up amid charges of corruption and cronyism, it was Allen Lew who took over and finished the jobs.
But the stakes are higher now, and the spotlight will be shining on the relatively reclusive Mr. Lew. He will not be able to fire city workers the way he dismissed contractors. He’s firmly in the public sector, ruled by unions.
The best way for this Chinese American raised in Brooklyn to succeed in making the city function better would be to work closely with Mayor Gray, in the old-fashioned good cop-bad cop tag team. Lew plays the tough guy, Gray makes nice. People would sense Lew’s stick but feel better after Gray’s “atta-boy.”
Could be a winning team.
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
