Joshua Bolten’s appointment as White House chief of staff is President George W. Bush’s Hail Mary pass in a game where the chief executive’s poll numbers are so low, Democrats are already choosing inaugural outfits.
Those who know Bolten tell Democrats, “Not so fast.” And don’t forget the untethered Karl Rove. Help us!
Bolten may not be the political tiger Rove is. But he is no slouch. As the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Bolten shook things up and improved the agency, if not the deficit.
What few know is the enormous contribution he made to D.C. Bolten provided the major assist on budget autonomy for the District, helped secure funding for the popular Tuition Assistance Program and instigated the federal land transfer proposal.
The District has long fought for control of its budget, more than 80 percent of which comes from local revenues. Two years ago, the phrase “budget autonomy” showed up in the president’s budget — thanks to Bolten.
When there were efforts in 2006 to reduce funding for the tuition program, which provides financial aid to college-bound District high school graduates, Bolten personally lobbied for the program’s approval.
Then, during a meeting about that big bugbear known as structural imbalance, which local officials decry in every conversation about the city’s future fiscal health, Bolten suggested an alternative to the dead-on-arrival request for a multimillion-dollar federal payment in lieu of taxes. (Officials argue that the District’s ability to increase its revenues is hampered because it’s prohibited from collecting a commuter tax, cannot tax federally owned land and must abide by a height limit on buildings constructed in the city.)
Bolten’s proposal to compensate, in part, for these obstacles became a proposal that allows the federal government to transfer select parcels of land to the city.
“Josh Bolten went to high school in the District and still calls our city home. He sees where we are trying to take the city and has worked to help us achieve our goals,” says Mayor Anthony Williams.”
Don’t think Bolten just pushed work off to subordinates. Williams’ former Deputy Chief of Staff Gregory McCarthy recalls that once, in a surprise move, the OMB chief personally came to the John A. Wilson Building for a meeting with the mayor.
“He made the District account in OMB something of interest and dynamism, not just crumbs that went to the most junior analyst,” adds McCarthy.
“He’s been good to work with, and my hope is that we will all benefit from his continued interest in the city,” Williams says.
Statehood purists will pooh-pooh all of this. They will argue that the District still doesn’t have a voting representative in Congress.
Not to soak their cake: The District didn’t win full voting rights when the Democrats were in charge, either.
Jonetta Rose Barras is the political analyst for WAMU radio’s “D.C. Politics Hour with Kojo and Jonetta.” She can be reached at [email protected].
