The last council session disharmony between the brash new mayor and the relatively disorganized council came down to this:
Mayor Adrian Fenty got pretty much everything he wanted. He got control of the public schools, freedom to develop massive stretches of waterfront, and the votes to keep his closest legal adviser, Peter Nickles, as attorney general, despite concerns about his authoritative ways.
We witnessed moments of petty bickering over parking spaces and tickets to athletic events.
At the start of this session, will the “Adrianettes” begin to curb the mayor’s enthusiasm for spending millions on schools with little review? For making over the bureaucracy in his vision of speed and efficiency, while thumbing his nose at the unions?
“The council has given the mayor a lot of leeway over the last two years,” at-large Councilman Kwame Brown tells me. “Now let’s see where we are with a few agenda items.”
If the past is any indication, the items most likely to cause friction are schools, money and development. Schools top Fenty’s agenda.
The council has been loading up to challenge Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. At a hearing last Friday, disgruntled teachers complained that Rhee and her principals were judging them too harshly and giving them the boot if they fail to perform.
Most kids and parents have applauded Rhee’s tough line on teachers who have failed to teach. My daughter at Alice Deal Junior High and Wilson High has had a few. But the council might try and soften Rhee’s standards. Bad idea, since only one of 13 has kids in public school.
The council already has attempted to micromanage discipline policy. Rhee and her staff held public meetings for months around town and developed a new policy which, for one, would keep suspended students in school and off the streets. The council passed its own plan; Fenty vetoed it.
Can Chairman Vince Gray come up with a “supermajority” to override the veto? Unlikely. By my count, Gray has a solid four votes, resting on the aging shoulders of Marion Barry of Ward 8; Fenty can count on four, led by Ward 2’s Jack Evans. Four are on the fence: they are Mary Cheh of Ward 3, Tommy Wells in Ward 6; Yvette Alexander from Ward 7; and at-large member Michael Brown, the newcomer.
Brown was expected to tip the scales for Vince Gray. He is, in fact, a formidable, ambitious and well-connected politician with his sights on higher office. He ran against Fenty in the last primary. A reception to retire his campaign debts Tuesday night will be held at the home of Debra Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of BET Networks. She will turn out the monied and powerful crowd, including Judith Terra, who raised funds for Fenty.
From what I gather, Brown has refused to be typecast as Fenty’s nemesis. Smart move.
But bad for those who wish the council can match the mayor’s political prowess.
