Call for Endorsements
Dear Endorsers:
It’s close enough to the primary now to start getting your
endorsements in to themail. Encourage your fellow citizens to vote for
the right candidates, who are, of course, the candidates you support.
Make your best arguments; let us know what has convinced you. Or send
your anti-endorsements to themail. Tell us all the reasons we shouldn’t
vote for that bum who has earned your scorn. The only rules are: 1) keep
it short, 2) keep it civil, 3) use your real name and E-mail address,
and 4) if you’re associated formally or informally with a candidate’s
campaign, reveal it. Come on, join in the debate in themail.
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Chancellor Rhee’s firing of 241 more teachers last Friday is not
likely to change anyone’s mind about her. People whose hearts thrill
at the teacher firings, who think that the best way to improve schools
is to fire teachers, will be pleased. People who think that Rhee acts
arbitrarily and precipitously, that her mass firings will make it
increasingly difficult to recruit good teachers to the DC system, will
have their distrust of her confirmed. Valerie Strauss expressed her
doubts in her blog on July 23, http://tinyurl.com/2a62evh;
the Post’s editorial board predictably expressed its unwavering
and uncritical faith in her in an editorial today, http://tinyurl.com/266xglv.
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Mayor Adrian Fenty is campaigning on two themes: that he’s become
unpopular because he has made “the tough decisions,” but that he has
a long list of accomplishments over the past three years. But what tough
decisions has he made? He has supported Rhee almost as enthusiastically
as the Post’s editorialists, but he’s made it clear that she’s
responsible for the educational decisions and the teacher firings, and
that he hasn’t been involved in her decision-making. Fenty’s list of
accomplishments doesn’t involve “tough decisions”; it’s a
bricks-and-mortar list. He’s claiming that he’s responsible for
building and renovating schools and recreation centers, and he recites
the whole list of schools and rec centers in his campaign speeches and
at candidate forums.
What do you think of Fenty’s construction program? Is he building
what neighborhoods want and need most? Is he consulting with the people
in neighborhoods enough to know? Then, is his administration contracting
for the construction efficiently and honestly? Does he deserve the
credit, or is he simply claiming the credit that should go to previous
mayors and to councilmembers who planned and prepared for the projects,
and to Allen Lew, who has been overseeing school construction projects
and now projects for the Department of Parks and Recreation?
#####
Jonetta Rose Barras is angry about what I wrote in the last issue of
themail, July 21. She says that her column in the Examiner (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Council-Change-Agent-1002087-98869269.html)
didn’t endorse either Kwame Brown or Vincent Orange in the race for
City Council Chair, and that I misread her. She’s absolutely right,
and I don’t know why my synapses were misfiring when I wrote that.
Jonetta’s column definitely leans strongly toward Orange
Brown. My only
excuse, and it’s a poor one, is that I didn’t reread Jonetta’s
column before I wrote my piece.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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On Monday, July 26, at 2:00 p.m., the council’s Government
Operations Committee will hold a roundtable meeting to consider Mayor
Fenty’s nomination of Togo West to the DC Board of Elections and
Ethics (declaration of emergency at http://www.dcwatch.com/council18/18-1096.htm;
nomination and West’s resume at http://www.dcwatch.com/council18/18-1097.htm).
The mayor sent West’s nomination to the council on Thursday evening as
an emergency bill under council rule 308, and the council briefly
interrupted its summer recess on Friday afternoon in order to accept the
nomination and to schedule Monday’s roundtable hearing. Later this
week, the council will again interrupt its summer recess to hold a
legislative session to vote on West’s nomination.
The emergency consideration of West’s nomination stems from the
sudden, unexpected resignation of Errol Arthur, the current chair of the
BOEE, effective July 31. As I wrote in the July 21 issue of themail,
Arthur’s resignation created a true charter crisis by leaving the
Board of Elections with just one member. In the emergency declaration
accompanying West’s nomination, the mayor indicates that Arthur’s
resignation would leave the BOEE “without a sufficient number to
constitute a quorum” and that, without a quorum, the BOEE “will not
be functional” (i.e., not able to deliberate and resolve
disputes, to prepare for the September 14, or to certify the primary
election results). Prior to publicly announcing his selection of West,
mayor Fenty, in an interview at the Ward 2 Democrats forum, indicated
that his nominee would be “blue chip.” A review of West’s resume
details a distinguished career (he practiced law at Covington and
Burling 1973-1975, 1976-1977, and 2000-2004), public service (as a
former Secretary of the Army and of Veteran’s Affairs), and as a
member of several corporate boards (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Krispy Kreme
Doughnuts, and Medstar Health). Nonetheless, West’s nomination does
raise some concerns about potential conflicts that should be addressed
before the council votes on his nomination:
1) he was a colleague of Attorney General Peter Nickles at Covington
and Burling and testified on Nickles’ behalf at his confirmation
hearing before the council; 2) according to some reports, West is a
close personal friend of William Lightfoot, chair of Fenty’s 2006 and
2010 campaign committees; 3) West is a member of the Greater Washington
Board of Trade’s Senior Council and a former chairman of the Board of
Trade, which endorsed Fenty in the mayor’s race this year; and 4) West
has a very active consulting career and is a member of more than half a
dozen corporate boards, which may make it difficult for him to attend
BOEE meetings and oversee the work of board and its staff. Don’t
expect any councilmembers to raise any of these issues, however. They
will be so honored that someone of West’s prominence will deign to do
us the favor of taking the position that they won’t ask him any hard
or potentially embarrassing questions. Nevertheless, Fenty’s ability
to come up with this very high quality nomination in such a short time
raises the question of why he wasted a year and a half pushing BOEE
nominees who had few or no qualifications, and then blaming the council
for not rubber-stamping their nominations.
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More Bad Decisions by Chancellor Rhee
Richard Urban, Rurban@rufordc.com
Schools are not just “businesses.” While testing has its place,
it is by no means a complete or accurate measure of the progress of
children’s education. Here is a comment from the Washington Post
web site regarding the firing on July 23 (again) of 226 teachers by Ms.
Rhee deemed “ineffective,’ with a whopping 737 more teachers rated
“minimally effective”: “I wonder if every teacher in the District
doesn’t deserve a well motivated, well behaved, student body, with
strong support from their home environment. Without those things, Ms.
Rhee’s evaluation system is meaningless. The school system has
descended into extreme political correctness, ill-conceived business
models, and the use of DC teachers as the fall guy of last resort.”
As long as a large majority of DC youth are growing up without both
parents in the home, or even one parent in the home (some 25 per cent of
all DC youth), then there are going to be major problems. Are these
factors considered in Ms. Rhee’s evaluation scheme? I would challenge
Ms. Rhee herself to come and teach some of the unruly high school
classrooms that I have seen myself during the course of my work with
ULTRA Teen Choice. A successful approach to helping our youth must be
holistic, especially in working with parents, as well as the community.
Having more homes with both parents present will drastically improve
the learning environment in DC Public Schools. Character-based sexual
health education is the right place to start this; youth should be
advised and encouraged to abstain from sex before marriage. Teachers are
actually in a similar position to parents within the school environment.
And when you are dealing with “family,” decisions cannot just be
made based on a (flawed) business model. Concern for the children, those
teaching the children, and parents should be at the forefront of our
school system. Ms. Rhee fails to show true concern for all three of
these groups.
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I found the “contact us” button online at the Department of Motor
Vehicles web site and asked how I can change my vehicle registration
address online, and they sent me the address that will let me change my
driver’s license address. I have already done that and have a new
license, but DMV still thinks my car hasn’t moved and isn’t helping
much. I will go down to the service center Tuesday, but since all
in-person car registration services have been stopped I don’t know if
that will do any good. I think my car is doomed to reside forever at my
old address, at least according to the DMV. How can I change the address
on my vehicle registration?
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In the early 1970’s we were writing a new constitution for the
Georgia Democratic Party. The preamble drafters included the following
statement in the proposed new constitution: “We acknowledge the proud
history of the Georgia Democratic Party.” A white party leader from
south Georgia spoke up and said: “Our party does not have a proud
history in Georgia. I object.” No posturing, just, “I object.” The
offending phrase was deleted, a small step toward racial reconciliation.
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The Affordable Housing and Homeless Crisis in
the District Is Getting Worse
David Schwartzman, DC Statehood-Green Party Candidate for
At-Large Councilmember, dschwartzman@gmail.com
First, a correction to my previous post, “A New Round of the War
Against the Poor” [themail, July 21]. The Emergency Rental Assistance
Program was not “wiped out,” as I mistakenly claimed, but rather
reduced by $1.3 million in the FY 2011 Budget, a 15 percent cut, leaving
$7.4 million. This cut will reduce potential benefits in this program in
an economic crisis generating more need, not less. (I apologize for
misinterpreting the DC Fiscal Policy Institute’s assessment of the FY
2011 Budget).
The affordable housing and homeless crisis in the District is getting
worse. I learned this at the 2010 Candidates Briefing sponsored by the
DC Affordable Housing Alliance and COHHO, held on July 22. Support for
DC’s affordable housing programs is one third lower ($41 million) for
FY2011 than in FY 2008. All major housing programs have been cut,
including first-time homebuyer assistance, rent subsidies, and the
Housing Production Trust Fund (DC Fiscal Policy Institute). The main
program benefiting truly low income people, earning less than thirty
thousand dollars a year, the Production Trust Fund, is now down to less
than four million dollars, with projects in the pipeline needing more
than eighty million dollars. A critical obstacle to the provision of
affordable housing to our low income residents is use of the Average
Median Income (AMI) of the Greater DC Metro Area, $102,700, in existing
laws and regulations.
Many more units would be provided in District subsidized housing to
our low income residents if the Median Income of $58,553 (2008) for the
District itself were used instead. DC tax data shows that some 60
percent of District families (excluding elderly) fall below fifty-seven
thousand dollars (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy; go to: http://www.itepnet.org/state_reports/whopaysfactsheets.php).
This issue should be highlighted in the upcoming candidates forums.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DPW Online Chat on Parking Enforcement, July
28
Kevin Twine, kevin.twine@dc.gov
The Department of Public Works (DPW) Parking Enforcement Management
Administration will respond to citizens’ questions regarding parking
enforcement in the District during its monthly hour-long online chat on
Wednesday, July 28, at 12:00 p.m. Citizens requested this topic during
last month’s online chat regarding litter and graffiti and are
encouraged to continue to suggest future discussion topics. Residents
can join or follow the discussion at http://dpw.dc.gov/livechat
once the chat session begins. Residents also may submit questions in
advance to nancee.lyons@dc.gov.
This is the sixth in a series of monthly online chats
with DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr., and other DPW officials.
Future topics will address trash collection, leaf collection, and other
DPW operations.
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Candidate Forum at UDC, July
29
Leah Ramsay, Lramsay@dcvote.org
I’m pleased to invite you to an in-depth discussion on the major
issues facing Washington, DC, with the top candidates for mayor of the
District of Columbia and the chairman of the DC city council. DC Vote is
cosponsoring this special conversation with the candidates with several
of our local partners. Whether it’s securing full democracy for
District of Columbia residents, improving HIV/AIDS services, revamping
the child support system or cleaning up the Anacostia River, the mayor
and city council chair have an impact on almost every aspect of daily
life in the nation’s capital.
Here are the event details: Thursday, July 29, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. The University of the District of Columbia’s
Auditorium, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW (Building 46E). The closest
Metro stop is Van Ness/UDC on the red line, and paid parking is
available in UDC garage.
Candidates: Mayor Adrian Fenty (invited), Chairman Vincent C. Gray
(confirmed), At-large Councilmember Kwame Brown (confirmed), and former
Councilmember Vincent Orange (confirmed). Moderated by Bruce DePuyt from
News Channel 8 and former DC City Councilmember Kathy Patterson.
Sponsors for the evening include DC Vote, DC Appleseed, UDC David A.
Clarke School of Law, ACLU of the National Capital Area, Access to
Justice Commission, Consortium of Universities, DC Branch NAACP, DC
Consortium of Legal Services Providers, Defeat Poverty DC, District of
Columbia Affairs Section of the District of Columbia Bar, and the
University of the District of Columbia.
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Non-Representational Photography Exhibit
Opening, August 5
Alex Pergament, alexander.pergament@gmail.com
I am excited to invite you to the opening of my first DC photography
show entitled |non|representational photographs. The opening will take
place at Tryst (Adams Morgan, 2459 18th Street, NW, just south of
Columbia Road) from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 5. The
photographs being shown were taken over the last year and capture the
mood or touch of specific moments in time. I deliberately misrepresent
the scene by using out-of-focus, over and under exposure, and camera
movement. This results in pieces not immediately identifiable as
photographs, where the physical reality becomes secondary to the
experience of the scene. Please visit http://www.alexpergament.com
and follow the links to Current Exhibition for a preview of the show.
The opening reception will feature the jazz/funk music of The Rast,
Ostle, Blackwood Trio (see http://www.myspace.com/willrast
and http://www.myspace.com/charlesostle
for a sampling), and hors d’oeuvres will be served. This will be my
first show in Washington, DC, after successful showings of [photography
as painting: an illicit affair] in Chicago and New Jersey. The show will
be on display from August 5 though August 31. I hope you will join me
for an evening of photography, jazz, hors d’oeuvres, and drinks.
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Arts on N Street, August 7-8, 14-15
Rachel Dickerson, dccahevents@gmail.com
Arts on N Street, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, is
DC’s new and free outdoor market displaying indie talents and handmade
expressions. Featuring high-quality, one-of-a-kind creations, concepts,
and more. Visit Portraits of DC, a one-block long, large-scale, outdoor
photo exhibit. Music, food, friends, and art — rain or shine. The
Festival will be held August 7 and 8, 14 and 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m., along N Street between 7th and 9th Streets, NW. For more
information, go to http://tinyurl.com/26qws4g
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