Mayor Adrian Fenty on Friday declared D.C. “strong” during his second State of the District address, an optimistic speech in which he laid out his administration’s successes while barely touching on the work still to be done.
The 32-minute speech, delivered at the Washington Senior Wellness Center in Ward 7, was mostly a positive reflection of his first year in office, rather than a look ahead. Touting a “robust” economy and growing population, the mayor said there has “never been a better time to live or work in the District of Columbia.”
“What I hear again and again is that what matters most is that your government is getting things done,” Fenty said. “You’re holding me accountable on important issues of education, public safety, jobs, health care, affordable housing and economic development. We’re not only listening to you, but we’re rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.”
Fenty touted his takeover of the public schools, his commitment to the environment and his focus on public safety. He pledged to provide every student who wants one a summer job, to develop ward-specific evacuation and emergency guides and to improve the handling of child-welfare cases – a response to the case of Banita Jacks, who is charged with murder in the deaths of her four young daughters.
“It was a recounting of the past year, which is what these speeches are supposed to do,” said D.C.Council Chairman Vincent Gray. “But it didn’t really foreshadow much. We’ve got some challenges ahead, especially on the financial front.”
Republican at-large Councilwoman Carol Schwartz said the speech was “excellent” and showed “the kind of activism the government is involved in.” Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh said the address reflected Fenty’s “can-do spirit” and the “wonderful catalog of all the good things that have been going on in the city.”
State of the District statistics
In the past year:
– 425 new teachers
– 20 new principals hired
– 6,374 school computers installed
– 299 police officers added
– 700,000 police calls
– 165,000 fire and medical calls dispatched
– 2,300 firearms removed from the streets
– 225,000 potholes filled
– 209,000 vehicles registered
– three parks opened
