Accountability
Dear Accountables:
In reply to my introduction to the last issue of themail, someone who
wants to remain anonymous for good reason has written: “I was also at
the [DC Appleseed] awards dinner honoring Mary Levy, Charlene Drew
Jarvis, and Colby King on Thursday evening. Your message was completely
on point. I only wish you’d mentioned that Rhee managed neither to
acknowledge DC Appleseed nor the awardees during her remarks. Arrogance
on top of arrogance. What world are we in? Oh, by the way, we know how
it works. [In Rhee’s anecdote about the good teacher and the poor
teacher,] the more senior teacher, who was counting down to elicit
order, probably got assigned all the known behavioral challenges so the
new teacher with all the great ideas could have a classroom that she was
able to control. So that poor woman has spent her year flicking lights
on and off, sending kids to the counselor and office, trying to have a
few minutes when she could teach something, while her colleague digs
into Greek mythology with a rapt audience. All because the more mature
teacher ‘could handle it.’ What are we going to do next year when
those folks have been replaced by Teach for America wunderkind?”
This raises again the question of how our elected officials can be
held responsible for improving education. Mayor Fenty sold his school
takeover by arguing that voters could hold him responsible for the
schools. But, as he knew when he said that, voters are very unlikely to
hold him accountable. Voting officials in and out of office is a blunt
instrument by which to enforce accountability. Elected officials in the
top governmental offices are responsible for a myriad of issues, so
elections do not hold them accountable on any single issue. Elections
just measure the voters’ general impression of whether officials are
doing a good job overall, or whether voters like them or not. Some
few voters may vote on the single issue of education, and hold the mayor
responsible for the performance of the schools, but many more of us will
vote on whether our streets are paved, our trash is picked up regularly,
and the street light at our corner works. Public safety, taxes, and
balanced budgets affect more votes in the District than schools. In
addition, voters can hold officials accountable only when we have the
information we need on which to make good decisions. If we aren’t told
honestly and understandably how well the schools are educating our
students — first by the government officials responsible for the
schools, and then by the press outlets responsible for reporting it —
we can’t make the right decisions.
The genius of American democracy is that accountability is enforced
not just by elections, but also by the system of checks and balances
among government branches. The competing interests of the branches of
government, as well as the competing interests of political parties,
ensures that there will be some accountability on individual issues and
between elections, and this works on a local level just as it does on
the national level. But in DC, there is no healthy competition among
political parties; the dominance of the Democratic party has led to all
the ills of one-party rule. And the city council does not act as an
effective check on the administration; Fenty is running as much of a
one-man, runaway government as Marion Barry ever did. Mayor Fenty, both
in the schools and throughout the government, refuses to involve the
city council in his administration’s decisionmaking process, and he
refuses to give the council necessary, and even legally required,
information about his administration’s programs and initiatives. The
administration insists that it holds all power and that it doesn’t
have to keep councilmembers informed; directors of all departments and
agencies, not just the Chancellor and the Deputy Mayor for Education,
defy the council and withhold information from it.
What is worse, the school takeover plan that the mayor proposed and
the city council voted for gives the administration a reason to argue
that the council itself has virtually eliminated its own checks on the
executive branch. The Washington Post editorially opposes checks
and balances in school governance, calling it “meddlesome” and “misguided,”
and supports strongman rule in which the city council and the people can
pose no check on Mayor Fenty’s unlimited power (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052001655.html).
School system decisions, the Post holds, should be made
unilaterally by the Chancellor with the input of “experts,” not of
the public or elected officials. The Post denigrates as mere “community
whim” what those who are democratically inclined think of as “the
will of the people.” Even worse, as I’ve written before,
councilmembers have a good reason to acquiesce in their powerlessness
over the schools, since they can tell voters now, just as they did under
the elected school board system, that they shouldn’t be held
responsible for the poor performance of the school system. Until the
cowardly council is given the gift of courage, and the stupid Post
is given a brain, there’s little chance of improving this mess and
escaping from Oz.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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It seems like every time the District’s tenants get a loophole
closed, another one opens. First it was the 95/5 transfer, which robbed
tenants of their TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act) rights and an
estimated $340 million in properties. Then it was the 120-day 501(f)
notice to vacate, which was used to clear buildings of tenants (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/2006/cover0113.html).
Then it was the vacancy exemption, which helped landlords empty over two
hundred buildings and robbed the District of $16 million in fees (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030802735_pf.html).
Now it’s a potential backdoor rent increase with submetering. The
DC city council is currently considering amendments to energy
legislation that would permit submetering of apartment buildings in the
District. The end result is that tenants would have to pay for not only
their own utilities, but for utilities in common areas as well. The main
argument used by advocates of submetering (namely, landlords) is that it
encourages energy conservation. But submetering could actually reduce
energy conservation in the long run. Tenants will be forced to pay for
all the inefficiencies of the different components of a building, while
owners will have no incentive to improve the systems since they won’t
be paying the utilities. Why would a landlord want to spend money to
replace inefficient windows, appliances, lighting fixtures, or HVAC
systems if the tenants are paying the bills?
If this amendment passes, it will likely open the floodgates for new
leases and costs that will adversely affect DC’s rental community. In
a city with an abundance of clever lawyers, a landlord lobby determined
to exploit every loophole in the law, and a history of weak regulatory
enforcement of housing protections, submetering appears to be the next
assault on District tenants under the guise of “energy conservation.”
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Turmoil Continues at BOEE
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
On Tuesday evening, Mayor Fenty issued a press release with the
surprise announcement that he had sworn in Errol Arthur as the chair of
the DC Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE), replacing the current
chair, Charles Lowery. Arthur, an attorney in private practice, just
became a member of the Board last month, in April, and had attended only
one meeting of the Board, on May 7, before Fenty chose him to chair it.
Arthur’s appointment comes at a critical time, when the District must
prepare for the primary election in September and the general election
in November, despite having to deal with the departure of two key
staffers — its executive director, Alice Miller, and Bill O’Field,
who was responsible both for press and public relations and for
recruiting and training poll workers.
The surprise and melodrama surrounding Fenty’s appointment of
Arthur to replace Lowery is reminiscent of Fenty’s appointment of
Charles Lowery just last year to replace the Board’s prior chair,
Wilma Lewis. I wrote about that in themail on May 9, 2007 (http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2007/07-05-09.htm).
Having treated Lewis with a complete lack of respect and courtesy when
he replaced her with Lowery just over a year ago, Fenty has now treated
Lowery with the same lack of respect and courtesy in the way that he
replaced him with Arthur.
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When Are Voters Going to Wake Up
Jonathan R. Rees, jrrees2006@verizon.net
To date: central school administration employees fired; school
principals fired; school teachers fired; schools closed; Fenty’s
developer friends getting contracts; people who were not qualified to
run our school system (Rhee and Reinoso) are getting fat paychecks and
Johnny still can’t read. As a matter of fact, the Fenty Administration
can’t show to date that all that he has done or proposes to do is
benefiting our children.
Did it ever occur to the voters that Fenty used the emotional issues
of our schools as a springboard into office, when his real goal was to
enrich his friends but never our children? We need to start seeing
results insofar as Johnny’s performance because pretty school
buildings won’t get Johnny into college.
Fenty has had more than enough time, with all the turning upside down
of our school system, to come forward and gives is a few solid examples
of how our children have benefited to date — grade wise at a minimum.
But he can’t do and probably never will be able to do that, because
Johnny is the last thing on Fenty’s mind.
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Republican Party Platform
Paul D. Craney, press@dcgop.org
The DC Republican Committee successfully held public hearings last
night and Monday night in which numerous civic organizations, community
leaders, small businesses, and DC citizens testified what they believe
the DC Republican Committee should include in their 2008 DC Republican
Party Platform. The 2008 DC Republican Party Platform will be submitted
to the Republican National Committee and Senator John McCain in late
August at the Republican National Convention.
Organizations that provided testimony included the outreach director
from DCVote, the advocacy manager from the National Education
Association, a spokesperson from the United States Mexico Chamber of
Commerce, the newly elected president of the Queens Chapel Civic
Association, a spokesman from a DC LSDBE Business (Local, Small and
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise with the full twelve points), a policy
analyst from the Cato Institute, an ANC Commissioner, spokesmen from the
DC Black Republican Organization, the minority outreach director of the
National Young Republicans, and the chairman of the DC Federation of
College Republicans.
In addition, the committee received written testimony from the
Executive Director of DC Parents for School Choice and met with Ed
Lazere, the executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, and
Walter Smith, the executive director of DC Appleseed.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Afghanistan’s Architectural Legacy, May 28
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
Wednesday, May 28, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Afghanistan’s Architectural
Legacy. Dr. Habiba Sarabi, governor of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Province,
explores the role of cultural preservation and the Afghani architectural
landscape. The Bamiyan Valley, a World Heritage Site, is perhaps best
known for its two monumental statues of Buddha destroyed by the Taliban
in 2001. Presented in partnership with US/ICOMOS and with the
cooperation of the National Geographic Society. $12 Members; $12
Students; $20 Nonmembers. Prepaid registration required. Walk-in
registration based on availability. At the National Building Museum, 401
F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events
at http://www.nbm.org.
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On Saturday, June 7, at 2:00 p.m., there will be a lecture and book
signing by Kadir Nelson, author of the children’s book, We Are the
Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, at the historical Society
of DC in the Carnegie Library, 801 K Street, NW, at Mt. Vernon Square.
Illustrator and first-time author Kadir Nelson reveals how he created
his masterfully rendered children’s baseball book, We Are the Ship.
This book will make fans out the least sports-enthused children out
there. Lush pictures, great text, and startling facts bring the story of
Negro League baseball to life like never before. This program is a
collaboration of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum and The
Historical Society of Washington, DC. Suitable for ages nine to adults. RSVP@historydc.org
or 383-1828
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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
The Healthy Families/Thriving Communities Collaborative Council has
an immediate opening for a program associate position. The program
associate will be responsible for directing and monitoring project
activities as it relates to community partnerships, practice, training
and evaluation. Education: Masters of Social Work. Qualifications
include a LICSW with at least one year of supervisory experience and two
years of work experience in the human services field required.
Experience in program coordination and knowledge of community based
services, a plus. Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to handle multiple tasks. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office,
Internet Explorer, and web-based systems.
Contact: Nicole Gilbert, ngilbert@hftcc.org
or 299-0901 (fax); HFTC Collaborative Council, 1112 11 Street, NW Suite
B, WDC 20001.
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CLASSIFIEDS — INTERVIEWEES
Daughters and Fathers
Jonetta Rose Barras, rosebook1@aol.com
Author seeking women between the ages of 18 and 35 who grew up
without the presence of their biological fathers in their homes but
would like to reconcile with them. I am also interested in speaking with
fathers who were not present in their daughters’ lives but would like
to build a relationship with them. Interested individuals should send an
E-mail to Rosebook1@aol.com.
Leave your name, E-mail address, and telephone number. Also provide a
brief statement about yourself and your relationship with your father or
daughter.
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