Anthony Williams leaves the nation’s capital much better off than it was when he first became mayor eight years ago. He deserves most of the credit for what historians will someday be calling the D.C. Renaissance.
Like the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s, which transformed the identity of blacks in the literary and performing arts, the D.C. Renaissance has done the same in the political and economic realm. It would not have been possible without the solid foundation laid by former Mayor Marion Barry’s chief financial officer, who almost single-handedly plotted the way out of a crippling financial morass that prevented the city from reaching its true potential.
Williams clearly did not have the popular Barry’s political charisma, street sense or media savvy. During the necessary belt-tightening he instigated as CFO, Williams was often referred to as “Mr. Bow Tie” — and it wasn’t meant to be a compliment.
But he knew his way around a spreadsheet. After being elected mayor in 1998, Williams somehow managed to convince big investors that the bankrupt shell of a city, then being micro-managed by the congressional Control Board, was a great investment. He attracted new businesses and new residents to a city on the verge of becoming a ghost town outside the federal enclave because of his singular vision of what Washington could become — a view hardly shared by either Congress or the public at the time.
Construction cranes now dominate the skyline, downtown is once again a great place to be, and our city is steadily becoming the crown jewel long ago envisioned by Pierre L’Enfant. The strongest real estate market in the world has made many long-time homeowners wealthy, and the capital city is abuzz with opportunity. If anyone had predicted this stunning transformation 20 years ago, they’d be told to stop the crazy talk and get back on their meds.
Williams’ almost total focus on economic development did not come without cost — both to himself and city residents. Many bitter battles with the City Council were fought, including those over closingD.C. General Hospital and financing the new baseball stadium. The mayor did not eradicate violent crime or completely reform a notoriously inept bureaucracy, although it’s much more responsive to citizens now than before. Williams’ major shortcoming was not even trying to fix the scandal-plagued public school system; he basically admitted he was not up to the task.
These challenges are left to Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty, who in manner and style is closer to Williams than Barry. But Fenty will confront them from a position of economic strength and an intangible, but real, sense that even such intractable problems can be solved. “We brought back self-respect to the city, a sense of higher expectations and aspirations,” Williams recently told Examiner reporter Michael Neibauer in a rare moment of introspection.
That you did, Mr. Bow Tie, that you did. That’s why we’re really going to miss you.
