Even after 200 days in office, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has not stopped running. Fenty is in perpetual campaign mode, observers say, sprinting from rally to community meeting to news conference promising to deliver a “world class city.” Those pledges are adding up, and Fenty said Thursday his constituents have every reason now to demand he come through.
“It’s their job to judge us on what they see in their own neighborhoods, and in service delivery in general,” Fenty said.
In his second 100 days, which close today, Fenty assumed control over the schools and dissolved a pair of quasi-public development agencies, bringing their billion-dollar projects under his thumb. The D.C. Council passed his first budget plan. He filled out most of his Cabinet. And he continued his focus on customer service, hosting town hall meetings, opening a new permit center and announcing plans to crack down on graffiti.
“Tremendous success coupled with numerous rookie mistakes, not necessarily of the mayor’s making,” said Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, of Fenty’s performance.
Fenty has lost a modicum of support as missteps pile up, including the secretive hiring of schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, the soaring salaries for Rhee and her top aides, accusations of plagiarism against his top education adviser and delays in school facility repairs.
“The honeymoon’s over,” said Rob Halligan, president of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association. “I’ve seen no momentum to improve the agencies, and that’s what he said they would do.”
Ward 1 D.C. Council Member Jim Graham, a Fenty ally, said the mayor is bound to lose some backers, “but these refreshing thrusts of decision making are exhilarating.”
In early April, Fenty said his second 100 days would be judged in part on how well police handle summer crime. Police Chief Cathy Lanier “surged” the number of officers on beat patrol, yet homicides are up 2 percent. Most other crimes, however, are down.
“I don’t see more or less police officers,” said Anne Theisen, a Columbia Heights advisory neighborhood commissioner. “It kind of just seems the way it always seems.”
