Mara and Long for Council

Sometimes, during meetings of the D.C. Council, it seems like someone has turned the clock back to the 1970s. I half-expect that at any moment one or all of the 13 members will start humming “The Way We Were.”

That sense of living in the past is not a function of age — although several members are over 50 years old. Rather, it comes from the fact that the council’s politics and public policies often are anchored in the later part of the 20th century. The members seem tethered to old-world courtesies. They whine incessantly about perceived slights and violations of process. Atmospherics and stagecraft rule — while issues affecting the quality of life for District residents frequently don’t receive the attention they deserve.