A warm smile and a soft touch can camouflage a rogue, my grandmother warned me. Despite her admonishments, there were times when, blinded by exterior attributes, I ignored substance.
Her advice came to mind again as I listened to the collateral chatter about the differences between Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray — a newly announced mayoral contender. Pundits, civic leaders and others have complained the incumbent executive isn’t warm and fuzzy. They have said he’s arrogant, remote and secretive. African-American respondents in recent opinion polls have said they don’t trust him. Gray, on the other hand, has been characterized as more inclusive and friendly. Last week, on the television show “NewsTalk,” he said he is “more engaging” than Fenty.
“When it comes to local politics, this is a small town. It still retains some Southern elements,” Terry Lynch, executive director of the nonprofit Downtown Cluster of Congregations, told me. “People want to know you. They want to know who is close to you. They want to know the places you go. People still read a lot into that.
“A lot of people vote for the most attractive candidate, the most likable person,” Lynch continued, adding that he doesn’t use that evaluative instrument.
All that touchy-feely stuff is so 20th century. A mature electorate knows a chief executive of a $9 billion public corporation should be judged on more than that likability. Further, using such a weak criterion to choose previous District leaders proved disastrous.
Consider former Mayor Marion Barry, one of the most demonstrative executives in the city’s history. (In some cases, he was a little too touchy-feely; but we won’t go there.) He impressed the electorate time and again: He remembered names, went to crime scenes and funerals, held press conferences at his office, and talked more smack than any mayor since.
But, behind all that razzle-dazzle was a mismanaged government. The federal takeover of city agencies while he was mayor proved Barry’s failure as a leader — despite his charisma.
Former Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly was good-looking and likable. She took the city to the brink of bankruptcy.
As the 2010 mayoral race kicks into gear, with four announced candidates — Fenty, Gray, Leo Alexander and Ernest Johnson — residents may want to heed my grandmother’s advice. They should demand substance.
Fenty may have done well over the past three years, but what does he have planned for the next four? If Gray intends to push out Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, as he has hinted, voters should demand he discuss her replacement. Voters should ask Alexander for data backing up his assertions that illegal immigrants are the prime obstacle to black full employment and then, if they believe him, insist he offer a plan for immigration reform.
The District has made great progress during the past decade. But, it faces significant challenges over the next four years. You can bet those won’t be solved with charisma, glib talk and glad-handing.
Jonetta Rose Barras can be reached at [email protected].
