The rap on Ted Lerner was that he had never met with any D.C. politicians as he angled to become owner of the Washington Nationals.
Not exactly.
Turns out Lerner had paid a visit two weeks ago to Council Chairwoman Linda Cropp. They chatted — very privately — and exchanged ideas about how baseball could put down roots in the capital city.
Might that be one of the reasons Cropp was separated from the Lerners only by Mayor Tony Williams when the assembled pols and owners threw ceremonial shovels of sand at last Thursday’s groundbreaking?
The selling of the former Montreal Expos — now the Washington Nationals — is the second shoe to drop in the city’s political and financial dance with Major League Baseball. How does the new politics of baseball affect the five who would be mayor?
Let’s get our groundrules straight: In pure political terms, the fact that funds raised by the District are paying for the $611 million stadium does not sit well with people who will elect the next mayor.
In the interminable run-up to the groundbreaking, Cropp was supposed to be an integral part of the negotiations between the city and MLB. When she finally saw the agreement as Williams was rounding third base and ready to ink the deal, Cropp stood in the base path and said, “No — the city’s getting a raw deal.” And at that moment, in November 2004, Cropp became a heroine for Washingtonians who believed the city’s funds could be better spent on schools.
From that high point, Cropp’s fortunes fell among these voters. She championed a new deal that was better for D.C. but was still based on public funds.
Cropp declined to pick a favorite among the competing ownership groups. When the Lerner family prevailed, she welcomed them warmly. At this point, Cropp looks responsible and supportive, at least among the business elite.
Adrian Fenty played baseball politics simple and straight: He consistently opposed any deal where public funds paid for a stadium. When Bud Selig chose the Lerners, Fenty issued gracious words of welcome. But when Cropp and Williams were throwing sand with the Lerners on Thursday, Fenty was meeting with a Latino group in his Wilson Building office.
Now we come to the error-prone Vincent Orange. The Ward 5 council member supported the stadium deal as an engine of economic revitalization. Fair enough, but hardly popular among voters. Then, when Lerner seemed to be the chosen owner, Orange joined Marion Barry in a misbegotten press conference in which Orange threatened “a divorce” should the Lerners get the team.
Yet, there was Orange scooping sand three down from Lerner. He comes off as two-faced at best.
Marie Johns and Michael Brown came late to the game since neither is on theD.C. Council. Johns opposed a broad business tax to fund the stadium. Brown opposed spending city funds for the ballpark.
Between the two current front-runners, Fenty wins the political game of baseball. Cropp won in the eyes of the business class, but they don’t vote.
Harry Jaffe has been covering the Washington area since 1985. E-mail him at [email protected].
