Vince Gray, the chairman who would be mayor, played political games Friday, and he came off looking very much like his opponent, Adrian Fenty: petulant, obstinate and clueless. He also managed to show off his worst trait — getting mired in process.
The venue was the budget hearing for D.C. Public Schools. At issue was the groundbreaking labor contract between the city and the teachers union; specifically, could the city pay for it?
Rather than help answer that question, Gray and other council members — Marion Barry, in particular — used the occasion to criticize Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi and through him, Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Disrespect was the order of the day.
The hearing was called for 10 a.m. Gandhi and Rhee and their staffs were ready in the council chambers at the appointed hour. Gray sauntered in at 10:25, at ease that he had kept the two agency heads cooling their heels.
Gray finally opened the session and said he was “incredulous” that so many conflicting contract financing numbers had been floating around. He found it an “unnecessary distraction.”
Gray didn’t mention that Gandhi had briefed him the day before, and that members of Gandhi’s staff had been meeting with his staff for weeks. It’s “incredulous” that Gray was so uninformed about the numbers.
The key “distraction,” of course, was Rhee’s announcement that she had found a $34 million surplus, after firing hundreds of teachers because of a budget shortfall last year. Gandhi then declared there was no surplus. “A great injustice,” Barry said of the firing of teachers.
Neither Barry nor Gray piped up at the hearing when their colleague, David Catania, found the source of the imaginary surplus. Catania unveiled the March 29 e-mail in which school finance officer George Dines informed Rhee of the surplus, between $36 million and $53 million.
“The chancellor did not manufacture this e-mail,” Catania said.
Both Barry and Gray ignored the revelation. Instead, Barry pestered Gandhi and came up with this astonishing lie: It was his idea that the federal government take over city finances in 1996 — after Barry as mayor had run up a $700 million deficit — and it was his idea to create an independent financial officer. Total fabrications.
Gray put the pending contract costs in the absolute worst light. He badgered Gandhi about the timing of the contract negotiations and asked why Gandhi had not been involved. He wanted Gandhi to rag on Rhee. Gandhi declined. Gray kept prodding.
In trying to make the contract seem too costly, Gray demonstrated an utter lack of understanding about basic budgeting. Future budgets are based on estimates; Gray demanded commitments — from the federal government.
What was lost in all the heat and posturing was this: Gandhi and Rhee and their staffs have been working together to figure out how to fund the new teachers contract. They are $9.5 million away from making it balance in 2011.
“This sounds very doable,” finance Chairman Jack Evans said.
“We are almost there,” Gandhi responded.
Gray ignored the good news — it didn’t work in his political script.
E-mail Harry Jaffe at [email protected]
