Anthony Williams
Democrat, Candidate for Mayor in
September 15, 1998, Primary

Williams for Mayor Kickoff, Petworth Public Library

Remarks of Anthony A. Williams

June 27, 1998

[The following remarks were distributed as the campaign announcement speech; the actual speech that was delivered differed significantly from the prepared remarks.]

Thank you, Georgette Rucker, and all the speakers who were good enough to be here today.

You all represent the face and heart and soul of our community, and I'm humbled by your confidence and grateful for your support.

I’m particularly honored to have been introduced by this exemplary young woman, and to have spent time earlier with the boys and girls in this library, because they are vivid reminders of why we're here today.

Our children represent our future. And our future is what this effort is all about.

We have a choice in the District of Columbia:

We can meekly submit to the forces arrayed against us — not just drugs and crime and a failing school system; but inadequate services, perpetual turmoil and lack of autonomy over our own affairs.

We can submit to these things. Or we can seize control of our own destiny, by making District government work efficiently and effectively on behalf of all our people and all our neighborhoods.

For me, and, I think, for you, the choice is easy — even if the challenges are hard. As a great former resident of the District, Frederick Douglass, once said: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

We can build a better future; a future in which we don't merely demand respect, but command it, by defying those who say we can’t manage our own affairs or solve our own problems.

And I’m ready, willing and eager to help lead that fight.

So today, I announce my candidacy for the office of mayor of the District of Columbia.

Robert Kennedy said it best: “The future is not a gift. It's an achievement.”

And no one understands better than I do the magnitude of the challenges that lie ahead.

When Mayor Marion Barry asked me to become the chief financial officer for the District, I inherited a budget that was drowning in red ink and a bureaucracy that, in too many cases, simply did not work. And this state of crisis cost us even more control, as our detractors in Congress took the opportunity to further tighten their reins over our city government.

We have begun to change all that:

We balanced the city budget and turned a projected $74 million deficit into a surplus of more than $180 million.

We improved city collections — and obtained millions in additional dollars from the federal government that was available to the District, but had never been claimed by city officials.

We put the city on track to restore self-determination for District residents by balancing the budget and improving services.

We’ve demonstrated the resolve to take charge of our affairs, and make the difficult decisions our problems demand.

Yet we still live under the authority of dozens of different entities — the control board; receivers; appointed officials; trustees — including the absentee landlords on Capitol Hill, who dictate decisions that affect the day-to-day lives of our neighborhoods and our people.

My goal is to work with our outstanding Representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, as we stand eye-to-eye with Congress and fight for self-determination for the people of the District.

Together, we will gain their respect — and regain the power we deserve to determine our own future through the representatives we elect.

Just as important, I want to lead in a way that honors the right of every person, every family and every neighborhood in the District to receive the basic services they need and deserve.

I’ve been called a nerd and a bean counter, in part because of my choice of neck ties and in part because of the work I've done here in the District.

But I’ve never seen my job that way. Because I’ve always understood, and tried to make others understand, that behind each line item in a budget book — and every failure of the system — are very human stories.

When I first arrived in District government, I confronted these stories every day. And my goal was more than just a balanced budget; my goal was helping District residents improve their lives.

I held more than 100 community meetings to listen and take suggestions from people. And the stories I heard made it clear that change was due:

People denied medical care — their lives threatened — because we didn't pay our bills.

Small businesses — mom and pop stores — facing financial ruin, because the District hadn’t paid its vendors.

Non-profit organizations with critical missions, including day care centers and shelters for battered women, threatened with closing because the District failed to properly distribute federal grants.

Thousands of men and women didn’t get the job training they need to earn a living and support their families, while millions of job training dollars were wasted on unnecessary administrative costs.

So we got to work — and we got things done. In less than three years, we’ve made real progress. But we have miles yet to go.

Ultimately, our success will be measured by the quality of life we provide for all our people. And in every neighborhood in the District, we all have common goals:

Every family wants and deserves for their children an education that will open the doors of opportunity, and, ultimately, the success of any community demands quality public schools.

Every citizen wants and deserves to feel safe in their homes and on the streets; to know that their child is safe on the walk to school, and our elderly can visit the church or corner store without fear.

Every neighborhood wants and deserves clean streets, thriving businesses, and nearby parks and libraries.

Yes, all of these things require money. But they require more.

They also require a willingness to explore how we might do more with less; a willingness to ask how we can do it best, rather than accepting things the way they’ve always been done.

Let us resolve to put the responsibility for the administration of our schools where it belongs — closer to our children, in the hands of the principals, teachers and parents — and not a remote, centralized bureaucracy. Only then can we make the system truly accountable.

Let us resolve that the safety of our communities should not be jeopardized by the mismanagement of our resources. We must upgrade equipment, technology and training. We need a 9-1-1 system that responds, patrol cars that run, police radios that work, and ready access to computerized criminal data bases.

Let us resolve to support Chief Ramsey as he aggressively pursues a program of neighborhood policing, where officers work closely with community leaders, businesses and citizens in the fight against crime.

And let us resolve to bring police and educators together to make every school in the District of Columbia free from drugs and crime, enabling our children to learn in peace. Our schools must be safe, open on time, and provide a safe have even after the school day.

Let us resolve to restore quality, accessible health care services, including funding and medication for AIDS patients throughout our city.

Let us resolve to provide for basic services and capital improvements in every neighborhood.

And let us resolve that we'll never again let tens of millions of community development dollars slip through our fingers, simply because we failed to claim them.

Now I know some will say this is an ambitious agenda, particularly under today's rules, when a mayor can propose legislation and appoint agency heads, but doesn't have direct management responsibility over many issues.

But as the elected leader of the District, the mayor does have the bully pulpit to hold our institutions accountable. A mayor does have the platform to bring together government, business and labor; religious leaders, civic groups and block clubs...and everyone who cares about this community...in the search for solutions. A mayor does have the standing to fight for the disenfranchised within our community, who also deserve a voice.

I am prepared to do these things. In fact, I believe I’m best prepared to do them.

I have great respect for the others who are in this race. They are good people. But they have public records as members of the City Council, just as I have a public record.

And every District voter must ask themselves, who is most likely to be a real force for the change we need; the change that will lead to greater self-determination and more effective, responsive government the District of Columbia.

I run on my record. It’s a record of making the tough decisions; of demanding efficiency and performance on behalf of the people of the District; of promoting changes that were long overdue. Mayor Barry brought me here to turn the District's finances around. I got the job done.

And I stake my candidacy on one other thing:

I know some doubt that there's such a thing as a “draft” in politics. But I've watched one grow in the past months, as a grass roots committee of citizens came together to urge me to run for mayor. These many dedicated people have formed a powerful, political base.

It was deeply moving be the object of such a campaign, because it reflected an appreciation for the course we’ve set. But what was most gratifying was the diversity of support it reflected: from Congress Heights to the Palisades; from east of the River to west of the Park.

You see, I don’t want to be the mayor of half the District. I would not run as a leader of one faction or another within our city. I believe we can only move forward as one community with a common destiny — black and white; rich, middle class and poor. Our vision must include every neighborhood; every man, woman and child.

So we are going to continue to shock the doubters and silence the whiners — the folks who, just a few years ago, forecast a future of deficits, decline and despair.

We’re going to point the way to hope and possibilities for all of our citizens; and build a community in which people not only want to work, but want to live and raise their families.

Divided, we surely will fail. But united in our resolve to seek bold, new answers to the challenges we face, we can build a better future — on behalf of these children, and generations to come.

Thank you very much.