Crushing the Recall
Dear Crushers:
Mayor Anthony A. Williams is responding to the recall movement with
unusually bellicose and violent language. At his press conference last
week he vowed “to crush the recall” — which led several of the
recall proponents to wear construction hardhats labeled
“uncrushable” when they filed their petition with the Board of
Elections and Ethics. Then on Monday, when Williams was asked about the
recall while attending Martin Luther King, Jr., day celebrations, he
said that he would “stomp it out.” Williams’s tactics will bear
watching over the next several months. When the recall proponents showed
up at One Judiciary Square yesterday to hold their prearranged press
conference and file the petition, they were denied entrance to the
building by security guards. After a while, the guards relented and let
the petitioners into the building, but tried to deny them access to the
meeting room they had booked unless they surrendered their posters and
signs. When the deputy chief of building security was forced to admit
that posters and signs were all over the building, he tried to argue
that protest signs were forbidden. Finally, he realized that he couldn't
legally support a distinction between approved signs and protest signs,
and let the recall proponents into their press conference with their
signs. Pro- and anti-recall materials are available at http://www.dcwatch.com/election/init017.htm.
Another recall is also in progress. Yesterday, the Board of Elections
and Ethics approved a recall petition against Ward One Councilmember Jim
Graham that was submitted by ANC 1A Commissioner Lenwood Johnson.
Graham's reply to Johnson's recall charges is inadvertently amusing, in
that Graham was so intent on characterizing Johnson's charges as
“false and misleading” that he ended up labeling all of his own
replies as lies: “Lie #1: I work closely with the police. . . . Lie
#2: Lenwood Johnson supports a strip club on Georgia Avenue. . . . Lie
#3: Children in DC Public Schools have had free textbooks for more than
100 years. . . . Lie #4: I voted to increase Metro fares after extensive
public hearings and discussion. . . . Lie #5: We did not refuse to help.
. . . Lie #6: The singles sale bill applied only to Ward Four. . . . Lie
#7: The Ward One Democratic Party election was the legal election. . .
.” That petition is at http://www.dcwatch.com/election/init016.htm.
Today the City Council voted a watered down version of the property
tax relief bill that had been introduced by Councilmembers Evans and
Catania. The high tax faction of the Council, led today by Mendelson and
Council Chairman Cropp, pushed for a cap on property tax increases of 15
percent rather than 10 percent a year; that was amended on the dais to a
cap of 12 percent. In addition, the homestead exemption was raised from
$30,000 to $38,000. And the effective date of the cap was changed back
from next year to this year. In the wake of the vote, both
Councilmembers who had worked for tax relief for homeowners and those
who fought hardest against it sent out press releases claiming credit
for it. It's not necessary to name names here; they're beyond
embarrassment.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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DCPS Hires Politically Connected Public
Relations Firm
Jonetta Rose Barras, jrbarras@aol.com
The DC Public Schools, which only weeks ago had planned to lay off
hundreds of teachers and other personnel, has hired PodestaMattoon on a
four-month contract to provide public relations advice. The firm was
co-founded by Anthony T. Podesta and his brother John Podesta, one-time
chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. Anthony Podesta serves as
cochairman of the company along with Dan Mattoon, who was the head of
the Republican National Congressional Committee during the so-called
revolution that resulted in Democrats losing control of the House.
According to a school system spokesperson, the company is expected to be
paid $60,000 or about $15,000 per month.
Meanwhile, the DC Board of Education has signed a one-year contract
with interim superintendent Elfreda Massie. Neither the DC Council nor
the mayor's office knew of the contract, according to sources at the
John A. Wilson Building. "This is troubling not just because of the
lack of transparency but [also because] it indirectly prejudices the
broader discussion of who the superintendent will be in the long
run," said one Wilson Building source. Further, Massie appears to
have appointed an employee to a position that she announced last month
was being abolished. Louise “Lucy” Young, who, some may remember,
was an assistant to mayoral Deputy Chief of Staff Mark Jones during the
fundraising scandal, is the “lead communications person.” Although
the position bears a different name, according to Young she is
essentially responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Office of
Communication. This is the same responsibility held by Linda Wharton
Boyd, who was pushed out of her job under the guise that the position
was being eliminated. “The work didn't go anywhere; someone had to do
it. So the superintendent asked me to hold it together while she deals
with restructuring [of the office],” explained Young, who denied that
she received a $20,000 signing bonus. The PodestaMattoon contract, the
Massie contract, and news of Young's position and possible bonus were
first reported by JRBarras.com.
[Update: At tonight’s regular monthly Board of Education meeting,
Chair Peggy Cooper Cafritz denied that PodestaMattoon had a contract to
do paid work for DCPS and claimed that the firm was donating its work on
a pro bono basis. Meanwhile, the PodestaMattoon firm and new Board of
Education "lead communications person" Lucy Young confirmed in
telephone interviews with WAMU-FM and Jonetta Rose Barras that the firm
did have a contract, and Education Board member Williams Lockridge
confirmed that the amount of the contract was $60,000. For those who do
not remember, Lucy Young was previously a contract employee and
assistant to Deputy Chief of Staff Mark Jones in the Executive Office of
the Mayor; part of her role in collecting checks for the EOM’s illegal
fundraising scheme is detailed in the Inspector General’s report at http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/ig020328d.htm.
— Gary Imhoff]
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Was the District Primary National News?
Peter Wolff, Dupont Circle, Plwolff@intowner.com
Harold Goldstein's observations about what he perceived as a virtual
blackout of real reporting about our fake DC primary is probably closer
to reality than many of us would like to admit. I did, however,
encounter a couple of minuscule references to the event slipped in among
primary stories during network or cable news coverage on that day or the
day before. But whatever I heard/saw was so fleeting as to be pointless;
furthermore, as Mr. Goldstein correctly noted, the major point about our
disenfranchisement was never revealed that I could discern.
As a matter of fact, when I was watching Sheppard Smith on Fox
Cable's (not local) 7-8 p.m. newscast, I caught the Fox news writers in
an egregious error: in mentioning our primary that day (referred to as a
“beauty contest”), it was stated that DC has no electoral votes.
Seems to me that they need to be instructed that we have three! I did
bring this gaffe to the attention of Doxie McCoy, Delegate Norton's
communications director, who responded immediately saying they would
inform Fox. I'm sure they did, but regulars to that cable station's
premier news hour will probably never know.
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Home Rule Does Not Resonate: the Race Card
Does
Bryce A. Suderow, Streetstories@juno.com
In last Thursday's issue of the mail Larry Seftor discusses home rule
and says: I've come to the conclusion that conventional wisdom about
what matters does not often represent what a lot of people think."
I agree completely.
Based on any form of action home rule has never resonated among the
residents of DC. In fact no issue has. The only thing that resonates is
the race card. Think about how Marion Barry used it to bring tens of
thousands of black people to the polls to vote for him. For those who
hold the race card dear, you'll be happy to know it's alive and well as
the Ward 8 ?white trailer trash” incident attests.
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Passive-Aggressiveness as Political Action
Larry Seftor, Larry underscore Seftor at compuserve dot
com
Ken Nellis calls me “ignorant” as he defends his choice “not to
vote” in the recent primary. I guess I am ignorant, Ken, because I
simply don't understand how inaction improves anything. Perhaps you have
discovered some new, passive-aggressive form of political activism. For
me, and other ignorant readers, perhaps you can explain what you
accomplished on election day.
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Remember that because of the District's “structural budget
imbalance,” DC is between one and two billion dollars a year in the
hole. If the city council taxed real estate fairly, the city would
probably go bankrupt. When I say structural budget imbalance I'm talking
about things like: no state tax reciprocity agreements are allowed with
Maryland and Virginia (e.g.., DC can't tax income earned by Virginia
residents in DC), 42 percent of real estate in DC is tax exempt, DC has
to supply state like functions to its residents, and DC has to provide a
few hundred million dollars a year in services to the federal
government. See http://www.OurNationsCapital.org
for more details.
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Property Taxes and Reverse Mortgages
Natalie Hopkins, nehopkins@hotmail.com
I sympathize with people who feel that they are being squeezed by
higher real estate taxes but I agree with Paul Peniman that people
should consider reverse mortgages. Taking out a reverse mortgage for a
fraction of the equity of the home would pay for taxes for a lengthy
time. This would allow the owners to use the increase in value to pay
for the property tax. There would still be plenty of increased value
left if the owner did want to sell.
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If DC residents want to assure they don't force low income home
owners out onto ice floes from the homes they can no longer afford, they
should at least seek solutions that minimize unintended consequences,
i.e., unnecessarily lost revenues. This means relating real estate tax
caps to income, not to rising home assessments, and limiting the relief
to those who need it, not to all who own their homes. DC's residents
have a nearly bipolar economic “demography.” Hence the wealthiest 20
percent of DC home owners generate 70 percent of DC's real estate
revenues and 80 percent of its income taxes. Surely they don't need a
tax cap or a higher homestead deduction! Take a look at a few draft
charts on trends in income taxes and real estate taxes paid over the
past few years by DC residents, as reported in the federal tax returns.
They are posted temporarily at quick-loading http://www.narpac.org/1STDRAFT.HTM.
They provide some useful clues as to how best to help those in most need
without giving away the store to fat Eskimos (or Inuits, as they
prefer).
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DC Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign
Idara Nickelson, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, nickelson@dcfpi.org
The DC Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign is pleased to announce the
opening of numerous free tax preparation sites in the DC area. The list
of sites, which will be updated regularly, is available at http://www.dcfpi.org.
All of the Campaign's outreach materials, including flyers in
multiple languages, outreach ideas, key facts about the Earned Income
and Child Tax Credits, also are available on the web site http://www.dcfpi.org.
All materials, except posters, can be downloaded and reproduced. To
order a poster or other materials, please complete the order form on the
web site or call Ann Pierre at 408-1080. For more information about the
DC Earned Income Credit Campaign, please call Idara Nickelson, DC Fiscal
Policy Institute, at 408-1080 or E-mail at nickelson@dcfpi.org.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Memorial Service for Wanda and Abbott Washburn
Erich Martel, ehmartel@starpower.net
Yesterday Wanda Washburn died. On December 11, her husband Abbott
died after a stroke. He had resisted leaving their house. Just after
Christmas, Wanda was moved into the Alzheimer unit at Grand Oaks, the
new place next door to Sibley. A week ago she got pneumonia and was
admitted to Sibley, but it proved fatal.
A memorial service for Abbott that was scheduled for Saturday will
now be a double service, at 11 a.m. at All Souls’ Unitarian Church,
16th and Harvard. It will be followed by a lunch at adjacent Pierce
Hall.
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Meeting for Library Supporters, January 25
Martha Saccocio, MarthaNS@aol.com
The DC Library Renaissance Project will hold a community meeting to
discuss ways that residents can get involved in speaking out on behalf
of the DC Public Library System. The Library has suffered repeated
funding cuts which have resulted in reductions on book and materials
purchases, low staffing levels, curtailed hours, and deteriorating
buildings. Sunday, January 25 at 1:00 p.m., at Politics & Prose,
5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW.
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Washington Storytellers Theater in Association with the Arts Club of
Washington is proud to present In Her Image: Folktales of Mothers and
Daughters and the Men Who Love Them. Jeannine Pasini Beekman brings her
newest full-length piece, In Her Image, a dark and disturbing retelling
of the tale we know as Snow White, to the audiences of the Greater
Washington, DC, community. Drawing from an extensive repertoire of
folklore and literature, Jeannine is known throughout the country for
the wit, passion, and integrity of her work. Westmoreland Congregational
Church, 1 Westmoreland Circle at Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Saturday,
January 31, 8 p.m. Tickets $12 ($10 seniors, students and ACDC members,
$9 for WST members). Purchase at the door or in advance by calling
301-891-1129.
Washington Storytellers Theater also presents a workshop led by Ms.
Beekman, Who Are These People and What Are They Doing in My Story?
Whether folktale or personal experience, literary or original, a story
is revealed through the action of its characters. During this
participatory and experiential session, Jeannine will guide participants
in the process of analyzing and developing characters. At the Maryland
Association for Nonprofit Organizations, 8720 Georgia Avenue, Suite 303,
Silver Spring, MD 20910, Sunday, February 1, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Registration fee $35 (in advance). Register at 301-891-1129 or WST, 6930
Carroll Avenue, #610, Takoma Park, MD 20912.
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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES
Folk and Folk/Rock Guitar Lessons in Your Home
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
Want to learn to play folk and folk/rock guitar? Fingerpicking,
chords, strumming? Dylan, Paul Simon, Joan Baez, Cat Stevens? Guitarist
with twenty-five years experience available to help people in their
homes. Experienced teaching children from fourth-grade up to adults.
Affordable rates. See my teaching in action at http://shorterlink.com/?N5D88M.
(QuickTime is required to view this video clip. A high-speed Internet
connection works best for viewing this. QuickTime 6.5 is a free download
from http://www.apple.com/Quicktime)
.
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CLASSIFIEDS — WANTED
Does anyone want to sell or give me a VCR player?
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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
Homeschooling in DC
Francesca Dixon, fgdixon@aol.com
I'm interested in meeting parents who are currently homeschooling.
Please contact me if you would like to share ideas, experiences,
expertise, field trips, and curricula.
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