Endorsements: First Round
Dear Endorsers:
Now we’re talking. There are many and varied candidate endorsements
and non-endorsements in this issue of themail, and there’s plenty to
agree or argue with. I’d encourage you to do just that in the next
issue.
The Adrian Fenty campaign published its latest (but far from its
last) press release today in the Washington Post, http://tinyurl.com/36yuvpa,
and it was so proud of its talking points that it released it two days
early, on Friday. Alan Suderman, The Washington City Paper’s still-new
Loose Lips, has the best comment on what he headlines sarcastically as,
“Shocker: Post ‘Enthusiastically’ Supports Fenty” (http://tinyurl.com/25noqo2):
“This endorsement, of course, isn’t much of a surprise. The knock on
the editorial board around the Wilson Building is that they are so far
in the tank for DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee that they would endorse
Charlie Manson to keep her around.” Aren’t you proud that you can
write a better-reasoned, more convincing, and definitely more
independent-minded endorsement editorial than the Post?
There are two more must-read articles that I recommend to your
attention: Valerie Strauss prints a fascinating article by Patrick
Ledesma about why many people believe that managers who use abuse and
humiliation as their management technique are “charismatic,” and
admire them, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/guest-bloggers/do-we-need-another-hero.html#more;
and Colbert King writes about why the top issue in this election cycle
should be DC’s fiscal health and responsible budget decisions, not the
future of Michelle Rhee, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073004009.html.
These two articles teach more about the issues in DC government than the
Post editorial board is capable of learning.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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BOEE Nominee Mital Gandhi
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
On Monday, the council will return again temporarily from its summer
recess so that the Committee on Housing and Workforce Development can
hold a roundtable hearing at 10:00 a.m. on the FY 2010 summer youth
employment program and consider emergency legislation from the mayor to
extend the program from six to seven and a half weeks (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/29/AR2010072906066.html).
The council will then hold a legislative meeting at 2:00 p.m. to
consider the emergency legislation. At the legislative meeting, an
effort may be made by Fenty allies on the council (Bowser, Catania,
Evans, and Wells) to “remove from the table” and vote on Mital
Gandhi’s nomination to the DC Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE)
(see my previous articles in themail on May 12 and June 30).
For the past few weeks, Mital Gandhi and his Republican Party
supporters have launched a massive public relations campaign in
publications friendly to Mayor Fenty (The Northwest Current, June
30 and July 7, http://www.currentnewspapers.com/archiveweek.php?n=1&year=2010);
The Washington Post, July 29, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/28/AR2010072805157.html;
and Jonetta Rose Barras’ July 28 column in The Examiner, http://tinyurl.com/24a9rmw)
calling for a council vote on Gandhi’s nomination to the BOEE. The PR
campaign was prompted by the fact that, on June 29, the council voted to
“table” consideration of Gandhi’s nomination to the BOEE when
several councilmembers (among them Phil Mendelson, Jim Graham, and Harry
Thomas, Jr., raised serious concerns about Gandhi’s background and
qualifications. However, rather than acknowledging Gandhi’s
shortcomings, the DC Republican Party falsely claimed that the vacant
seat on the BOEE is reserved for a Republican, that therefore the
Republican Party should be consulted on any appointment to the BOEE, and
that Gandhi’s nomination was a victim of “party politics” and of
councilmembers who didn’t want any Republicans on the BOEE. In fact,
the DC Code merely specifies that no more than two members of the Board
should be of the same party; regardless of that fact, independents and
members of other parties have never been named to the Board, while a
succession of Republicans (Dr. Lenora Cole, Jonda McFarland, and Norma
Leftwich) have been.
Last Thursday, as the council was poised to vote on Togo West’s
appointment to the DC BOEE, Mital Gandhi and the Republican Party
lobbied the council and delivered yellow plastic ducks to councilmembers
who, they claimed, were “ducking” a vote on the nomination. Just
prior to the 3:30 council session they joined forces with the mayor’s
office to feverishly lobby councilmembers in the corridor just outside
the council chamber in an effort led by Catania, Bowser, and Wells to
get Gandhi’s nomination added to the meeting’s agenda. It is likely
that the same scene will be repeated Monday afternoon.
For more than fifteen years, I have closely followed the work of the
BOEE, including attending the Board’s monthly meetings; filing
complaints regarding violations of the District’s election, campaign
finance, and ethics laws), and reviewing the background of appointees to
the Board. Over the past two years, I have been alarmed when Mayor Fenty
sought to appoint unqualified friends and associates to the BOEE. Mital
Gandhi, however, is by far the worst appointment the mayor has sought to
make. He lacks the integrity, independence, and work ethics the position
requires.
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Watermelon Sorbet and Watermelon Lemonade
Trish Chittams, mintrish@gmail.com
One of my marvelously generous neighbors gifted me with an enormous
watermelon the other day and, with only four of us at home, there was no
way we would be able to consume this gift without it going bad, so I
took to the Internet. I received several suggestions on my Facebook page
and was told “Just eat it!” and “make a slushy.” So, fully
inspired, I began a full search to turn our watermelon into something
other than just the usual cold slices. I came across a couple of recipes
which I highly recommend.
The watermelon sorbet turned out to be magnificently light and barely
sweet, a refreshing desert for a hot summer night. Using a blender puree
about six cups of watermelon, adding a quarter cup of sugar and the
grated peel of one lime. (Make sure to strain the watermelon to remove
seeds.) Bring one cup of watermelon puree to a boil with the sugar and
lime peel, add a pinch of salt, and heat until the sugar is melted. To
this, add the remaining three cups of watermelon puree and whisk in a
half cup of light corn syrup. Pour the watermelon mixture into a
nine-inch metal pan and freeze until firm (four hours or overnight).
Remove the frozen watermelon from the freezer, let stand about five
minutes, break up the frozen watermelon into two-inch cubes, transfer to
a food processor, and pulse until smooth. Refreeze in a freezer safe
container and store for one week.
As a child, every summer I sold lemonade to people getting off of the
street car in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of Pittsburgh. I wish I had
this recipe then, I would have made a killing. Watermelon lemonade: to
one cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, add four cups of watermelon puree,
strained through a coarse strainer to remove seeds, two and a half to
three cups of water, and simple syrup to taste, Serve over ice. This is
grown-up, refreshing lemonade, perfect for our hot summer nights. Anyone
else have any suggestions for refreshing deserts and/or drinks to cool
our brows during the dog days of summer?
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Delinquent taxpayers will get a rare opportunity to pay outstanding
taxes and interest to the District of Columbia, have their penalties and
fees waived, and avoid criminal prosecution. The DC Tax Amnesty program
will run from August 2 through September 30, offering individuals and
businesses the opportunity to satisfy their tax liabilities.
A special web site, http://www.dctaxamnesty.com,
has been established to help tax delinquents expedite payment and
resolve their tax liabilities. Among the issues addressed are
eligibility requirements, necessary documents plus the application form.
Taxpayers can call the Office of Tax and Revenue at 202-727-4TAX (4829),
E-mail questions to dctaxamnesty@dc.gov,
or visit the service center at 1101 4th Street, SW, Suite W270, between
8:15 am to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Known receivables of $170 million are owed to the District by 42,000
individuals and businesses. Sixty percent are located in the District,
with 40 percent outside, primarily in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.
The amnesty applies to all taxes administered by the Office of Tax and
Revenue with the exception of real property-related taxes and the ball
park fee. All periods covered by tax returns due prior to December 31,
2009, are eligible.
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Revive the Council’s Education Committee and
Evaluate 2007 Public Education Reform ACT
Mai Abdul Rahman, maiabdulrahman@comcast.net
In 2007 Council Chair Vince Gray eliminated the DC Council Education
Committee and consequently made education the responsibility of the
Committee of the Whole. Education became every councilmember’s
responsibility, and subsequently no ones responsibility. DC’s
education legislative oversight structure is unique in the US — no
other state, city, municipality or federal legislature has advocated or
enacted the responsibility for education to the Committee of the Whole.
The Education Reform Act also established mayoral control for the
District of Columbia Public Schools and created six costly educational
agencies: the District of Columbia Public Schools, Department of
Education, State Board of Education Agency, Interagency Collaboration
Services and Integration Commission, Office of Public Education
Facilities Modernization, and the Office of the Ombudsman for Public
Education. The cost of this elaborate structural change is over two
billion dollars — half of which is allocated to DC Public School and
DC Public Charter Schools, totaling more than $1 billion ($586 million
for DCPS and $534 million for DC charter schools), http://www.dcfpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/FY11education2.pdf
. This resulted in an education bureaucracy that is top heavy,
horizontal, and often has redundant functions and overlapping
responsibilities.
In 2008 a GAO report outlined the structural problems DC’s
Education Reform Act has produced and recommended the development of a
strategic plan to evaluate and assess “the goals of multiple offices
and identify if they are aligned or working at cross purposes.” In
addition the GAO recognized the frustrations of DC public school parents
who since 2007 are excluded from meaningfully participating in the many
important decisions that impact their students and schools and are
dependent on official nonobjective sources to learn about their schools.
The GAO recommended the necessity to build institutional capacity “to
communicate information to stakeholders and, when appropriate,
incorporate their views,” http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08549t.pdf
. None of the GAO recommendations has been addressed, whether by the
mayor, his multiple agency executives, or the Committee of the Whole.
In fact, since 2009 public school parents lost the only official
vehicle for parents to communicate and resolve their school complaints.
The Office of Ombudsman, originally established in 2007 to provide and
encourage communication between school parents and the mayor formally
ended operations on September 30, 2009. Meanwhile the State Board of
Education — stripped of most of its budget and staff, and with little
power, has played a minimal role in shaping school initiatives or reform
and has little contact with public school parents. Mayoral control will
not address the many complicated and critical issues facing our city
schools. Chicago, currently the longest standing mayoral controlled
school district (since 1995), remains at the bottom of the barrel and
has yet to show significant improvements.
Although the Education Reform Act of 2007 gave the DC council an
expanded role in overseeing DC public school management, its record is
dismal — it has been futile, contentious, and its oversight role is at
best mediocre. This has allowed the consolidation of all educational
matters in the hands of Chancellor Rhee and an aloof Mayor, and produced
a horizontal redundant structural system that has left out parents.
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Are You Collecting School Supplies?
Susie Cambria, susie.cambria@gmail.com
I wanted to share some information on school supplies for kids going
back to school next month. The other day, I blogged about the school
supplies kids need when they start school in DCPS (http://susiecambria.blogspot.com/2010/07/donate-school-supplies-k-12-students.html.
I also blogged about a survey of sorts I am doing to identify who is
doing back-to-school supply collections; I will collect it all and then
blog it (http://susiecambria.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-you-conducting-school-supply-drive.html).
I expect the Washington Post and some others to pick up the list
of supply drives; this is free promotion for your efforts!
If you are aware of organizations doing back-to-school drives, please
encourage them to take a few minutes to share their drive information.
The deadline for providing supply drive information is close of
business, August 4.
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Could it be that the small number of endorsements is due to the
difficulty your readers have in processing the reality that Rhee’s and
therefore Fenty’s most prominent supporter is Obama? Earlier this
week, his Department of Education gave DC’s education policies a
strong endorsement by putting DC on its short list for Race to the Top
funds. It may be difficult for some to assimilate, but here are the
facts: DC schools, the lowest performing of all, beat out thirty-two
states in getting these funds. There must be strong DOE approval for DC’s
policies, for DC’s political clout is so small that this cannot be
pork.
Obama is the most pro-union president since Harry Truman, and is head
of a party whose most powerful core supporters are the teachers’
unions. Nevertheless he picked and is close to Arne Duncan, whose Race
to the Top competition is vigorously if ultimately ineffectively opposed
by the teachers’ unions. When liberal Democrat and teachers’ union
pet and puppet David Obey moved to cut funds from the Race to the Top in
order to bail out more teachers’ jobs, Obama threatened a veto,
against the wishes of the teachers’ unions. So anti-Fenty, pro-Obama,
readers must overcome their cognitive difficulties and come to terms
with the fact that the Obama administration is pro-Rhee and therefore
pro-Fenty.
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Voting Choices from the Edge
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com
Did you watch the movie “Postcards from the Edge?” In the scene
where Meryl Streep tells her mother (Shirley MacLaine) how terrible it
was growing up, Shirley says “Well, I could have been like Joan
Crawford,” and Meryl replies “Those are my choices?” That’s how
I feel about the upcoming elections.
I don’t like the choices for council chair. I would never vote for
Vincent Orange because of how he rammed through special legislation
awarding master development rights for the Florida Market with the
possible use of eminent domain authority for connected interests
(represented by other connected interests) with no public tender for
proposals or an open and transparent process for selecting a developer
— it’s the dirtiest deal I’ve witnessed as an involved citizen
(other than the directing of contracts to mayoral friends through the
subterfuge of a nonprofit connected to the Housing Authority). But a
council chair needs to be damn good, and I don’t think our other
choices reach that level. Maybe I should do a write-in vote for Vincent
Gray?
I don’t like the choices for mayor. I have many of the reservations
about Mayor Fenty that others have, and I believe that the public
schools are being destroyed through idiosyncratic rather than
systematic, structured, and robust “reform” efforts. But he is
future oriented, and focused on building the city for the future — I
think that a lot of our problems as activists come from our efforts
during the time that the city was shrinking and needed to be stabilized,
and now that the city has the potential to grow, many of us aren’t
able to modify our agendas and look forward. I think Vince Gray is whip
smart (he’s raked me over the coals during testimony before him, which
only makes me respect him more, because he bored in on the single
weakness in my argument), but his candidacy has issues that concern me,
and I think that many of the interest groups that are endorsing him
prefer a return to interest group politics that frequently do not favor
the city’s future, but are a return to the past.
As far as choices for at-large councilmembers go, I favor Phil
Mendelson (even though I don’t agree with him on everything) over
Clark Ray because I think we need some independent intelligent voices on
council, and on the current council Phil is one of the few independent
and intelligent voices that we have. If Clark wants to run for council,
I wish he’d do it “against” a different seat on the council, as I
do think he’s bright and he cares, even if I can’t see him as much
of an independent voice. Since now I live in Ward 4, I will take a pass
on commenting on the Ward races (1, 3, 5, 6), except that I like Tommy
Wells, and his focus on “livability,” advocacy for streetcars,
bicycle tracks, and other transportation improvements. Given that the
city’s competitive advantage rests in large part on optimizing
transit, walking and biking over automobility, we need a councilmember
who understands this and makes it a key priority in his ward and for the
city at large.
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Don’t Candidates Have to Give Reasons to
Support Them?
Tom Grahame, tgrahame@mindspring.com
Gary, when you aren’t excited about any candidate, does that mean
that the candidates themselves are poor, relative to before? Does it
mean something about you? Have you become too cynical? Have you come to
believe that things won’t get too much better no matter what? My lack
of enthusiasm, I want to believe, has to do with the candidates. Four
years ago, Fenty had it right: the only way urban kids are going to have
good choices in the future is if we can find a way to educate them
better. He easily beat an “establishment” candidate, for lack of a
better word. I was cautious about his youth, his lack of executive
experience, but Cory Booker in Newark had those characteristics, and has
been exceptional, as far as I can tell (how many readers have rented “Brick
City” from Netflix, or seen it on PBS? If you haven’t, do it). I was
very excited that someone appeared to be addressing education with more
than lip service. Maybe it had to do with the mass exodus for charters.
. . . If we can’t do the very hard work to fix the public schools now,
when can we?
It does seem to me, unless the figures have been played with, that
test scores have improved quite a bit in four years. That seems like
progress. Many teachers and administrators have been fired. Is that part
of progress, or unnecessary harm? I can’t tell from the outside. I
have to guess that it is a bit of both, in my ignorance of ground truth.
But let’s lay that aside for the moment . . . the reason I can’t get
enthused about Fenty is that he seems to have taken the attitude from
his first day in office that he’s going to run things the way he
wants, citizens and council members be damned. Peter Nickels is his
Haldeman and Erlichman, his pit bull. Appointing unqualified cronies. No
press conferences, no contact with the citizenry to speak of. A complete
character transformation. Bluntly, we don’t matter now that we elected
him the first time, except to be manipulated by his PAC money to vote
for him again. So if should I vote for Fenty this time around, it will
be with little enthusiasm. And only if I believe that the apparent
progress in schools is real, not the product of manipulated figures. It
didn’t have to be this way, Adrian.
What about Vince Gray? I have a good image of him because of his work
at Covenant House. I have found him to be personable. But I don’t know
much about what he will do if he is elected, other than the apparent
progress in the schools, if it has to do with Fenty and Rhee (which I
think it must have to at least some degree), will likely be curtailed.
(If this is wrong, I would like someone to tell me why, it’s
important!) He won’t be as aloof as Fenty, he’ll work better with
the council, and this would be progress, but I don’t actually have a
sense of what he wants to do to make things better. I think he’s
running only because people asked him to and he has a shot. So no
enthusiasm, and some trepidation that education once again might slide
back.
What about the council? I think Gray was a good chairman, despite
some issues that I thought he went the wrong way on. You can’t win
everything. I think whoever will replace him is unlikely to be as
capable in that position. I don’t have any enthusiasm for any of the
candidates for council chair. Again, please tell me I’m wrong, and
tell me why — I very much want to be wrong.
Maybe I’m getting more cynical. I prefer to think that we’ve had
better candidates in the past. I was a precinct captain for Tony
Williams for almost three months. Call me crazy, but I would bet that
most of us would rather have Tony Williams than either Fenty or Gray as
mayor, based on past performance. And who would you rather have as
council chair, Vincent Gray or one of the present candidates? I’ve
worked for political candidates, off an on, for over forty years. I did
so when they excited me about what they could do, how they could make
things better. I wouldn’t dream of doing so this time around. The last
time I worked for a candidate was for Lisa Raymond for school board,
just two years ago. I’d like to see her run for higher office, I think
she has good common sense as well as determination. I would work for her
with enthusiasm. I can’t think of another potential candidate for whom
I would volunteer, right now.
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This Black Ward 6 Resident Supports Fenty
Mary C. Williams, Southwest Waterfront, mslaw1121@aol.com
I have steadfastly supported Adrian Fenty’s reelection for a number
of reasons. The primary reason is that this city, for the first time in
my decade of living here, is now focused on education reform and public
safety. Prior to his election, this city was still trying to deliver
basic services to its residents and was marginally improving this
effort. Today, a majority of residents take basic services for granted
and are now discussing the pros and cons of education reform. That alone
is worth my support. It gives me hope that DC public schools may one day
produce a generation of geniuses that will eradicate world hunger,
broker peace in the Middle East, and wipe out cancer. Similarly, Fenty’s
hiring of Police Chief Cathy Lanier was initially controversial and
broke with all sorts of stereotypes. Today, Cathy Lanier and her
assistant, Dianne Groomes, are among the most popular employees in this
city, particularly in my SW neighborhood. I don’t hear anyone
complaining but the police union official. These two women are getting
the job done. In fact, our community policing efforts and resident
participation are way up, as our shootings are down. We now go many
weekends, even months, between senseless shootings. We don’t miss the
good ole days of neighborhood terrorism. Even those who are reluctant to
give Fenty credit for having the foresight to hire these two women,
Michelle Rhee and Cathy Lanier, it’s impossible to say that they have
failed. In addition to results, we also have been given hope. We want
more positive changes. A better education system will produce more
skilled and college-bound students who will eventually join the
workforce and compete in a global market for the best jobs, effectively
reducing or even eliminating the need for many to resort to illegal
means to support themselves. By all accounts, Fenty has delivered for a
majority of the people. This city is no sprint to govern. It needs
someone who is disciplined, independent, can make the tough decisions,
and can go the distance. Fenty is not perfect, but he does run marathons
and has demonstrated that he can do this job. He can go the distance. He
has earned an opportunity to finish what he started.
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The “debate” at the University of the District of Columbia was
most enlightening. Sitting before the audience were Vincent Gray and
Kwame Brown, the city’s next leadership team. Those attending the
forum know Vincent Gray is the right choice. He is honest, accountable
and direct. Every question was fully answered. And, he was there! A
comparison of the two mayoral candidates and their current
responsibilities, that began simultaneously, makes clear that Vincent
Gray has demonstrated leadership and maintained a strong work ethic. As
chairman, he has led the council in support of the mayor’s school
reform and budget. On the other hand, Adrian Fenty has been arrogant and
unable to work collaboratively with the council or his constituents. His
staff and agency heads know the mayor doesn’t want to hear bad news or
another point of view; he would prefer to by-pass planning and hurry up
to get things done.
Parents want schools to continue to improve, but it is wrong for the
mayor to let Michelle Rhee hold them hostage. Colbert King noted schools
are not the most important issue facing the city when he broke ranks
with the Post editorial board and correctly identified the
District’s fiscal health as the prime issue in this election. Chief
Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi issued a strong warning to the city’s
leadership after the three Wall Street rating agencies informed him they
are concerned about the District’s declining general fund and the ease
with which reserve funds are tapped. If the mayor is going to have to
say “no” to the further use of reserve funds, Gray is capable of
setting those limits.
Vincent Gray attended the city’s public schools and graduated from
George Washington University and its law school. He is a “home boy”
and proud of it. He has spent his career in service to his city and
community. He is a leader and capable of working collaboratively with
the council and residents of the District. He is a man of integrity with
a vision for the city and a plan for its implementation.
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I’m voting for Adrian Fenty because he is the only elected official
willing to fire teachers in order to reform the school system. Vincent
Gray wants to turn the clock back to the time when everyone
micro-managed a mediocre school system.
I’m voting against Tommy Wells and Phil Mendelsohn because the
logical result of their policy towards youthful criminals ensures that
these kids remain free to slaughter people on the streets of Washington.
The city turned a corner in 1998 when the reform candidate Anthony
Williams was elected. Thousands of middle class citizens moved into the
city and they have transformed it. However, they won’t stay unless the
schools function and we can keep young criminals off the streets.
###############
I support Vince Gray for mayor 1000 percent!
Fenty is lacking in so many respects, it’s hard to know where to
begin. He, Peter Nickles is an outrage as AG, the thugs around him are
cheats and liars, etc. The intimidation that’s going in Ward 3 is a
disgrace.
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Vincent Orange Has the Juice to be Chair
Kathryn Pearson-West, kap8082@aol.com
Clearly, in these recessionary times the District of Columbia — our
nation’s capital with the eyes of the world constantly watching,
judging, and sometimes marveling and envying — needs a council
chairman with the business/financial acumen and political savvy to help
lead DC to more promising financial health. The District needs a master
legislator and consensus builder. Orange is talented, smart,
experienced, likable, honest, and quite able. DC needs Vincent Orange
for chair. Vote Orange! Orange has the juice to be council chair.
Vincent Orange, a former Ward 5 Council member and a former PEPCO
business executive, has a multitude of skills to help lead this
magnificent city forward. He has focused a lifetime of building his
skills as a leader; he is prepared academically and professionally. He
has held several key career positions and has a list of results and
accomplishments to prove his ability.
Orange has a pleasant demeanor, though reserved, and is easy to
connect with to get things done. Orange listens and acts with great
leadership skill and poise. He stays on top of issues and is proactive
as a result. He works well with people and encourages stakeholders to
participate in the discussion of issues to seek a resolution that is
pragmatic and acceptable to many. He is a firm negotiator and has the
results to demonstrate his competence and leadership. It’s hard not to
go to Home Depot and Giant in Brentwood in Ward 5 without thinking about
how he championed the building of that Northeast shopping center. He
also ensured that the once closed McKinley was transformed into a solid
technology school, preparing young people for careers in science and
technology. Orange worked with concerned community residents to prevent
a section of his ward from becoming a red light district for the adult
entertainment industry. Orange is visionary and cares about the people
of this city and the future of the nation’s capital. He is not a tax
and spend leader, but is a man who practices financial discipline and
follows financial protocols, even within his household. He needs to be
at the table to assist in leading DC forward and take stands on behalf
of the people when necessary. He does well collaborating with
stakeholders to get the job done or make the deal happen.
Not only is Vincent Orange a great leader, he is a positive role
model and a good family man. Orange is married to a special needs
educator and has two sons and a daughter. He lives in a modest home in
Ward 5. He has worked hard side by side with his wife to ensure that his
children are set on the right path to success in life. His children
attended DC public schools, though he may have turned to other options
along their way in their childhood to meet their individual needs. He is
a churchgoing man with quality spiritual values and an appreciation of
the tenets of faith, which he tries to follow. He attends Metropolitan
A.M.E. Church in downtown Washington. Additionally, the Honorable
Vincent Orange is determined and enthusiastic about improving education
and economic opportunities for residents. He is not shy about pushing to
reduce to the vast underemployment and unemployment in the nation’s
capital. He is all about trying to defeat poverty and improve upward
mobility options while simultaneously trying to build and protect the
middle class. He wants to keep neighborhoods clean, safe, and stable and
he wants to improve or at least maintain the quality of life for
residents, from the young to those in their twilight years. Being chair
will help him achieve a shared vision for Washington, DC, supported by
the citizens of this promising world class city and home to over half a
million residents. He is a innovative and talented leader that will work
with citizens to promote family friendly policies as well as policies
that will attract and maintain residents from all walks of life, races,
creed, ages, and so forth.
Orange is also a creative person and communicator. He puts forth a
strong message that resonates, even if that communication is sometimes
in the form of jingles. Orange has a fun personality as well and works
hard and plays hard. When he was a Ward 5 councilmember, he was known
and well liked for bringing people together at annual galas, Halloween
and winter holiday parties, picnics, festivals, and even his own annual
birthday parties. At any of these events, the warm and gentle side can
be seen in this fierce, determined, able, and accomplished legislator,
negotiator, and lawyer. He is known for his eagerness to get on the
dance floor with his constituents and fellow dance enthusiasts to do the
latest line dance. As the Vincent Orange signs dot the city in yards and
lamp posts, it is a sign of hope and possibility that Orange will be the
next chair. He will be rewarded for his good works. He will not be a
slave to special interests and is free to speak his mind, always
focusing on doing the right thing to improve the beloved city so many
call home. Orange can disagree without being disagreeable and is a great
debater with the issues and facts. He gets things done in a timely
fashion and doesn’t have to wait to be told or pushed to make things
happen. He builds strong working relationships. He gets the job done. Go
Vincent Orange. Win the race for chair of the council and show DC and
the nation what you’re working with.
Though Vincent stumbled in the race for mayor in 2006, he is the
comeback kid and is the best candidate to help lead the city forward. He
will be able to excel with rival and fellow candidate Councilmember
Kwame Brown serving with him on the council. At the end of the race,
citizens will have two strong leaders on the council, with Orange as
chair and Brown continuing in his position. Brown will also be able to
take some time to get his own financial house in order and advance the
need for quality financial planning for families and households. Brown
will be able to take some time to talk about the need to practice good
financial discipline at home as well as at work. And the charming,
ubiquitous Brown will be able to teach struggling under- and unemployed
resident how to advance in their careers in government and the private
sector with less than stellar credit reports. Many job applicants are
turned away from jobs because of unemployment — not lavish spending
— have dampened their credit reports. Vincent Orange is the best
candidate to be chair at this time and will bring new thinking and new
ideas to the position and will lead with expertise, vision, compassion,
and a commitment to excellence. Vincent Orange for Chair! The city wins
when he wins. Take the juice and don’t drink the Kool Aid of others
that are not able to pushing DC in the direction that the residents
truly value and want it to go. Win with Vincent Orange as chair of the
DC council. Vote September 14 for Orange.
###############
I announced my candidacy for mayor of the District of Columbia on
September 14, 2009, I knew it would be one hell of a challenge. I didn’t
have much name recognition given the fact that I wasn’t a career
politician and hadn’t worked as a TV news journalist in a decade. I
didn’t have millions in my bank account. I wasn’t a native
Washingtonian like the incumbent or the chair. But I knew I had one
thing that neither of the other two could claim – a platform to
benefit all Washingtonians. Over the next six weeks, the voters of DC
will come to realize what our movement for change has known for some
time. Mr. Fenty has a solid base of support that plans to vote for him
regardless of his many alleged ethical shortcomings, because of one
issue alone — DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee. After a full term as DC
council chair, Mr. Gray has what we call soft support: the ‘Anybody
But Fenty’ crowd. What makes this crowd of support so soft is that
they aren’t really supporting Gray because of a track record of wins,
an exciting platform, or some phantom unblemished public service record
— they’re only supporting Gray because they think he has the best
chance of beating Fenty. As a matter of fact, most of his support came
his way be default. There were no other career politicians brave enough
to take on the mayor’s multimillion dollar war chest, and Don Peebles
took his tantalizing bankroll and went back to Florida. After months of
what seemed like agonizing contemplation, coaxing from the old guard,
the media, and organized labor, Gray finally announced his candidacy in
March of 2010.
Since Gray’s announcement, I can’t count the number of times
someone has come up to me and said, “Aren’t you afraid you’re
going to split the vote and allow Fenty to get a second term?” My
answer has always been, “No, because this time the voters won’t
allow themselves to be fooled.” Deep down they know that on paper
there’s absolutely no difference between Fenty and Gray. Here are just
some of Fenty’s and Gray’s greatest hits: Fenty wanted to take over
the schools, Gray approved it. Fenty hired Michelle Rhee and Peter
Nickels, Gray approved both. Fenty proposed three budgets and spending
that took us into a $666 million deficit, Gray approved all three
budgets. It’s alleged that Fenty’s cronies illegally made millions
on the Parks and Recreation Centers deal and Gray’s cronies stand to
make millions on the new lottery contract. They’re both singing from
the same anti-transparency hymnal. Gray’s crowning achievement was the
marriage equality law, and this time it was Fenty who approved it, and
they celebrated by signing it in a church. The only real difference
between the two men is thirty years of age.
From all indications, the Fenty and Gray duet was hitting all the
right notes until 2008. That’s when Fenty didn’t share the District’s
allotment of Nationals baseball tickets with Gray. If you take a closer
look at the timeline of what else was happening about this same time,
you’ll see that the lottery deal was caught in a tug of war between
the two. In a recent series of articles by The Washington Times’ investigation
of this lottery contract, it appears that only after Gray was successful
in replacing Fenty’s cronies with his own that Fenty retaliated by not
sharing the baseball tickets. Meanwhile, a third of our citizens over
the age of sixteen are functionally illiterate, nearly half of the
children in DC are born into poverty, 75 percent of the black men
walking our streets have criminal records, and the HIV infection rate is
over 300 percent higher than the CDC’s definition of an epidemic . . .
third world numbers while our two highest elected career politicians
carve up the booty.
The Washington Post endorsed Fenty even though he has no plan to
create jobs. He has no plan to address the budget shortfall except by
using federal stimulus money, and no plan to tackle the spike in armed
robberies across the District except through targeted incarceration of
our poor. Their endorsement came earlier than usual this year because
they know that he’s in trouble. Gray doesn’t have a platform at all
except birth-through-24 education, with one major omission — where’s
the funding? Gray knows he can’t win with just a fraction of the ABF
vote, and since he doesn’t have a plan to create jobs either or knows
whether or not he’ll cut services or raise taxes to balance the
budget, the chances of him chipping away at Fenty’s base is slim.
My platform touches all by attacking the root causes of generational
poverty. I intend to raise the minimum business tax, while making the
District’s business taxes more competitive with Maryland and Virginia
to grow our tax base. I plan to exempt those making less than $50,000 a
year from paying DC income taxes. Those making less than $100,000 will
get a tax cut and those making more than $150,000 will see a slight
increase on their personal income taxes. I believe the best way to keep
honest people honest is to randomly audit agencies to uncover waste,
fraud and inefficiency. I will end the practice of spending $140 million
per year on leased office space in favor of forming a public-private
partnership to build a green, mixed-use government-commercial complex
— One Columbia Plaza. Each year, the District spends $1.5 billion a
year on people trapped in a cycle of poverty, which has basically
created an incubator to fuel the prison industrial complex with more
young bodies. I plan to end this trend through reducing the dependence
on social services by 10 percent every year, thereby moving residents
from psychologically crippling government dependency to
self-sufficiency. The District will invest in our people by funding
child care, literacy training, substance abuse treatment and mental
health counseling while protecting jobs for blue collar Washingtonians.
The estimated $150 million in savings from this strategy will be
reinvested into quality of life issues across the District of Columbia
which will benefit all residents.
This time we have a choice. We can either chose the status quo of
Fenty or Gray that does nothing to address displacement, dependency or
prison beds for DC’s poor, or we can ante up and attack this wasteful
cycle at its roots. I need your support. Together we can form that
winning team on September 14.
###############
Gary, in response to your query in Wednesday’s posting, “Does no
one have a preference in the mayor’s race, the city council chairman’s
race, the at-large councilmember races, or the four ward councilmember
races?,” speaking for myself, I call attention to my editorial (“From
the Publisher’s Desk”) in the current PDF issue of The InTowner
(online at http://www.intowner.com).
There will be found my personal endorsements for Ward 1 and at-large
council Democratic primary races; I will deal with the mayoral and
council chair Democratic primary races in the August issue, the PDF of
which will be posted on the August 13.
Whether my endorsements are ever useful in any way I do not know, but
I put them out there for whatever they might be worth. Sometimes,
candidates I have endorsed win, other times they may have been the “kiss
of death” — either way, nobody can say I am bored with contemplating
the outcome of elections, though often the campaign rhetoric and
posturing drives me nuts!
###############
Are there any Republican candidates?
Who knows, perhaps a change of parties might bring some improvements
to our local government?
###############
As soon as independents have a voice in the primaries, I will have a
choice.
###############
Someone asked me the same question yesterday. Preference? For what?
What is really proposed?
What is the difference? What am I missing?
###############
We Are Too Busy in AZ
Star Lawrence, jkellaw@aol.com
Our beloved cartel murderers pasting people’s faces onto soccer
balls and tossing them around, earnest young dads being hauled out of
ice cream shops and slapped on the bus to Nogales, marches, propaganda
on both sides, people clambering over fences . . . I just can’t get to
my DC news as much as I’d like.
###############
The Cleanup After the Storm
Kevin Twine, kevin.twine@dc.gov
We understand that you are clearing up yard waste from last weekend’s
severe storm and many of you also suffered the loss of electricity,
which has led to spoiled food. The Department of Public Works wants to
help by collecting the smaller tree limbs and branches, spoiled food,
and the recyclable food containers. Check http://collectionday.dcgis.dc.gov/
for your neighborhood’s collection(s).
We ask you to do the following. With your yard waste, please cut
limbs into four-foot lengths, bundle them, and place the bundles with
your trash. In Supercan neighborhoods, yard waste will be collected on
your regular trash collection day. In twice-a-week neighborhoods, yard
waste will be collected on your second collection day. These collections
are subject to available space in the trash trucks. With spoiled food,
please empty recyclable glass, cardboard (juice boxes, etc.) and metal
food and beverage containers, rinse the containers and place them in
your recycling bin(s) or cart(s). Place the spoiled food in your garbage
disposal or a sturdy trash bag. The bagged food should be put in your
trash can and placed out for collection on your next collection day.
Recyclables are collected in Supercan neighborhoods the same day trash
is collected. In twice-a-week neighborhoods, please put your recycling
containers out on your scheduled collection day.
###############
Support Mital Gandhi’s Nomination to the
BOEE
Marc Morgan, info@morganfordc.com
This morning, I took a stand against the DC council’s dodging the
nomination of Mital Gandhi to the DC Board of Elections and Ethics. With
members of the District of Columbia Republican Committee, other DC
council ward candidates, and some dedicated volunteers, we delivered a
message to our current councilmembers to not “duck” the Gandhi
nomination, and called for a vote. For too long, the Democrats of the DC
council have tabled Mital Gandhi’s nomination, simply because Gandhi
is supported by Republicans. The DC Board of Election and Ethics is
supposed to be a bipartisan board, and we believe that the council
should allow a GOP-supported candidate his proper place on it. This is
simple majority party games, and voters of the District of Columbia
deserve better.
I hope that you see the issues with the current leadership we have
running our great city. I hope to be a voice of reason, willing to move
on all matters of importance to our city. Without reasonable people
willing to do what’s in the best interest of all of the District’s
citizens our city will never rise to its full potential. I don’t want
to see this happen. Do whatever it takes to make sure our voices are
heard, and we no longer have to submit to the one party rule that has
misguided our city for so long.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Ward Four Democrats Endorsement Forum, August
4
Cherita Whiting, cherita_whiting@yahoo.com
The Ward 4 Democrats mayoral endorsement forum will be held on August
4 at St. Georges Conference Center and Ballroom, 4335 16th Street, NW.
Voting will be from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. The mayoral candidates forum
will be from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
###############
National Building Museum Events, August 7
Johanna Weber, jweber@nbm.org
Postmodernism, August 7, 1:00-2:30 p.m. Roger K. Lewis, FAIA,
architect, planner, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland
School of Architecture, and author of the “Shaping the City” column
in The Washington Post, draws on his years of writing to discuss
this reactionary approach to architecture. At the National Building
Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square Metro station. Register for
events at http://www.nbm.org.
###############
Community Review of Georgia Avenue, August 7
Parisa B. Nourizi, parisa@empowerdc.org
The ECAC, a founding member of the Georgia Avenue Community
Development Task Force (GACDTF), invites all residents, business owners,
and other stakeholders to a community review of Georgia Avenue on
Saturday, August 7, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Howard University
School of Architecture at 6th Street and Howard Place, NW. The Georgia
Avenue corridor is undergoing major change from New Hampshire Avenue to
S Street. It is important that the current residents and businesses
clearly identify the issues and the vision they have for new development
before the bulldozers arrive. At this Community Review of Georgia
Avenue, participants will have a chance to discuss issues that will
affect their quality of life in areas such as housing, safety, retail
options, environmental initiatives, recreation, and more. Small group
discussions will take place between 9:30 and 1:00, with a large group
meeting beginning at 2:00. Lunch will be provided.
###############
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