In an interview back in the early spring, Mayor Adrian Fenty explained his rationale for dealing with “usual suspects,” a term he uses as if he were describing a gathering of trolls.
“I work for the people,” he told me. “I don’t work for any group.”
We can define “group” as an organization of unions or businessmen or tenants — basically, any interest group dedicated to representing people who have a stake in governance.
Well, those groups are ganging up on the young mayor. Furious at how he’s shut them out of city hall, the most usual suspects are gathering Monday at Judiciary Square to proclaim their support for City Council Chairman Vincent Gray, who seems as if he might even unseat Fenty.
To name a few of the enraged groups, we have the Chamber of Commerce, the Tenants Advocacy Coalition, the Gertrude Stein Club, the government unions and 10 more. And don’t forget the Muslim Democratic Caucus.
It’s safe to say that Washington’s local political establishment is firmly behind the challenger. Add in former Mayor Marion Barry and you have the apparatus that ran the city from the dawn of Home Rule in 1974 to 2006, when Fenty took office. Can you say entrenched old guard?
Looking back over his four years in office, Adrian Fenty might wish he had been a tad more politic. He could have shown up for more Chamber of Commerce type events, lingered when he got there, slapped a few more backs. But that ain’t Adrian. Nope — Adrian is a man with ants in his pants.
If I heard this once, I heard it 50 times: Fenty showed up late for a dinner gathering, offered up a few awkward comments, looked at his watch and left. He would abandon a room full of fat cat donors or gay activists or hoteliers slack jawed at his lack of respect.
Fenty believes glad-handing is beneath him. Agreed. He thinks a night spent at an annual dinner is a waste. Agreed. Fenty is a crappy politician. Agreed.
Does that mean if we put the usual suspects who make up the establishment back in power that the city government would function better? I am not so sure. If you listen to the gripes of the various interest groups, they boil down to an inclusion, or lack of it. They rarely point to a government function or a law or an agency that failed to perform over the last four years. To the contrary, if you press them they might even give Fenty’s government good marks.
So what’s their beef? They could not get the mayor’s attention. That’s a valid point, and Fenty was shortsighted in ignoring the usual suspects. But if they are back at the table next January, they will feel better, but will the government function better?
I think not.
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
