Dear Washingtonians:
Alma Gates’ message, below, raises a question. Does the Office of
Planning continue to oppose the Height Act, even in the face of
overwhelming public support for it, simply because of its arrogant
belief that it knows better than the public what Washingtonians should
want for their city. Or does the OP believe that it exists not to serve
the public, but to serve a different master?
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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When the Ward 8 Democrats held its candidate forum and straw vote for
mayor on January 18, no mayoral candidate received enough votes — 60
percent — to receive the organization’s formal endorsement. In a crowded
field of eight candidates, the vote was fractured. Bowser received 127
votes, 41 percent, to Gray’s 94 votes, 31 percent. With the April
primary fast approaching, it is likely that other endorsements votes by
other organizations in the District may suffer a similar fate. One such
example is organized labor.
While the role and importance of labor unions in national elections
may have waned over the years, unions are still substantial in District
elections. First, labor unions can provide funding to political
campaigns, usually through their political action committees. More
importantly, unions provide campaign workers and other resources that
are needed in a campaign to man the campaign headquarters, organize the
field and get-out-the-vote efforts, attend candidate forums, and staff
telephone banks. In addition, unions are able to communicate with their
members and provide a means by which candidates can deliver their
messages directed to potential voter. While Vincent Gray has the strong
support of virtually all major unions in the District in 2010, e.g.,
police, teachers, and the Metropolitan Council of the AFL-CIO, that
is not likely to be the case in 2014. Unions are angry that Gray has
broken a string of promises that he made in 2010 in order to get their
support, for example that he would not retain Kaya Henderson as school
superintendent and that he would replace Kathy Lanier as police chief.
In addition, he vetoed the Large Retailer Accountability Act, a priority
of labor unions, and his administration has had a cavalier attitude
toward labor-management issues.
In 2014, no mayoral candidate has the unified support of labor. On
Monday, January 27, delegates to the Metropolitan Council of the
AFL-CIO, which represents 150,000 union members in the metropolitan
area, participated in a marathon eight-hour Council decided to postpone
its endorsement until sometime in February, which it will meet again.
Even then it will be unlikely that any of the mayoral candidates will
have enough support to get the two-thirds vote needed in order to secure
the endorsement. Should that happen, each member union would then be
free to go its own way and endorse its own candidate, or not to endorse
at all.
In preparation for their interviews, the mayoral candidates (Bowser,
Evans, Gray, Lewis, Orange, Shallal, and Wells) provided written
responses to a detailed questionnaire developed by the AFL-CIO. Their
responses can be reviewed at
http://tinyurl.com/jweqqed by clicking on “show replies” near the
top of the page. To date, Mayor Gray has secured the endorsement of
Local 25, the hotel workers union, and Jack Evans has received the
support of the Maryland/DC State Council of the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
###############
OP Beating a Dead Horse
Alma Gates, ahg71139aol.com
Just when you thought the proposed changes to the Height of Buildings
Act were on the back burner, the Office of Planning has turned up the
heat. It seems the OP is continuing to advocate its proposed changes to
the Height Act in spite of fairly unanimous public opposition. At both
the DC Council and National Capital Planning Commission hearings,
witness after witness presented testimony in opposition to OP's proposed
changes to the Height Act. Blogs and public opinion polls returned the
same results — leave the current Height of Buildings Act restrictions
alone. No thank you, no changes.
But, according to the Current Newspaper, Tanya Stern, OP’s
Chief of Staff, was at the recent ANC 4C meeting, making a presentation
on the Height of Buildings Act. She said the city only has 4.9 percent
of land remaining that can support growth. In other words, DC needs more
height if it is to realize future development potential.
OP continues to advocate for changes to the protections that have
preserved the city's most identifiable characteristic — it's horizontal
skyline. What's wrong at OP? Is this more of its, "we know what's best
attitude"? Is the agency truly tone deaf to the residents of the
District of Columbia?
###############
On Saturday, January 25, a friend and a fellow Shriner, C. Mills (Medric
Cecil Mills, Jr.), — suffered a heart attack while crossing the street
fifty feet from the front door of a fire station on Rhode Island Avenue,
NE, http://tinyurl.com/n45cd8b.
The fireman on duty failed to render aid and assistance simply because
he had not received a call from the 911 system. As a result Noble Mills
died in the street, while the fireman did not carry out his duties and
responsibilities. I hope that the widow of Noble Mills seeks legal
recourse against the DC Fire Department. The issue was placed before the
Fire Chief, but as usual there was no response. But what else can you
expect from the DC government? What a waste.
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[Re: Dorothy Brizill, “Corruption and the 2014 Election,” January 22]
I’m just praying that Gray does not get back in office again, I think it
would such an embarrassment!
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Orr Principal Under Investigation
Candi Peterson, saveourcounselors@gmail.com
An elementary school principal, Niyeka Wilson of Benjamin Orr
elementary school, is in hot water and under investigation for
disparaging comments she made on Facebook about a pregnant parent and
student with respiratory problems at the school. Here's what the DC
Parent Action Consort (known as PAC) reported that Orr's principal
posted on her personal Facebook wall: "Soooo. . . . 1 ambulance + 3 EMT
guys + 1 hyperventilating can't breathe kiddo + 4 Metro Police Officers
+ 1 pregnant mentally disturbed parent screaming + 2 suspensions + 1
allegation of assault by me (FML) = a DYNAMIC DUO that conquers that and
continues an in progress meeting @ the same doggone time !!! Adventures
of Principal Willie and Omplare S. Magass." The Facebook post was
subsequently deleted, after complaints were filed by parents.
Under the alias of DC parent Action Consort, presumably to protect
the identity of Orr parents, several E-mails were forwarded to DC City
councilmembers Alexander, Barry, Bonds, Cheh, Graham, Grosso, McDuffie,
Orange, and Wells in an appeal seeking disciplinary action of Wilson for
her misdeeds. A December 1 E-mail titled, “Principal Berates Pregnant
Parent and Student After Flotus Visit,” reads as follows: "Weeks after
the FLOTUS fanfare at Benjamin Orr in Southeast DC, Niyeka Wilson, first
year DC Public Schools (DCPS) principal at Orr, posted disparaging
comments on her Facebook page toward a pregnant mother of several Orr
pupils and a student that experienced severe respiratory complications.
The at-large community is outraged! Facebook is no place for knowingly,
with reckless disregard, and despicable personal feelings of expressed
malice, towards those Principal Wilson is employed to cultivate. It is
irresponsible to state on Facebook that a ‘can't breathe’ student and a
‘pregnant mentally disturbed parent screaming’ as the ‘Adventures of
Principal Willie.’ This has a negative impact on her ability to
successfully lead reform at Orr and collaborate with parents, a mainstay
of her professional duties.
“Orr Elementary has a large at-risk student population, and currently
in ‘turnaround’ status. According to greatschools.org, Orr is ranked
below average. How can a turnaround plan produce expected results if
parents feel they have been ostracized by the principal? Consequently,
good leadership and parental engagement is critical toward the
successful transformation of this historical Anacostia neighborhood
school. Principal Wilson's comment is indicative of a bad leader who has
failed at the primary responsibilities of leadership in service to
students and parents: shaping and fostering a vision of success,
creating a hospitable school climate, and strengthening family
engagement to directly enhance learning outcomes. This is not only a
leadership flaw but a character flaw, too. Mrs. Wilson owes Orr parents
and community an apology. We expect Kaya Henderson, Chancellor of DCPS,
and Jesus Aguirre, Director of the Office of the State Superintendent of
Education (OSSE) give serious consideration for disciplinary action for
such a gross act of wanton negligence. We ask that you impress upon
Chancellor Henderson and Mr. Aguirre to act immediately."
In a January 15 E-mail response, Councilmember Yvette Alexander
wrote: "If these allegations are true, I am deeply concerned with the
lack of sensitivity and unprofessionalism characterized by this
principal and would question their continued tenure at Orr." Chancellor
Kaya Henderson responded on January 27 to the Consort's E-mails. She
apologized for the lack of responsiveness to the complaints, indicating
that she and Instructional Superintendent John Davis had not been made
aware of them previously. Henderson wrote, "If you reported this to
anyone at DCPS, can you please share to whom, so we can figure out where
the breakdown in communication has occurred? It would also be helpful to
have any additional information that might be helpful as we investigate
this situation. . . .."
I am glad to know that there will be an investigation into this
matter by the school district. I agree wholeheartedly with Councilmember
Alexander. If these allegations are confirmed, Wilson should be given
her walking papers. Anything less would send the wrong message, that
children in schools East of the River don't matter. We all know if this
occurred at a West of the park school, heads would roll.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Frederick Douglass in Washington, DC: The Lion
of Anacostia
, February 4
Susana Baranano,
susigbf@yahoo.com
John Muller is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide. He is
the author of Frederick Douglass in Washington, DC: The Lion of
Anacostia (The History Press, 2012), which has been selected as the
DC Public Library’s 2013 DC Reads selection. On Tuesday, February 4, he
will present a lecture on Douglass at the Woman’s National Democratic
Club, 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. The bar will open at 11:30 a.m.;
lunch will be served at 12:15 p.m., and the presentation and question
and answer period will be from 1:00 p.m.. to 2:00 p.m. The price will be
$20 for members, $30 for nonmembers, and $10 for the lecture only. The
book will be available for purchasing and signing. Register for the
event at
https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5880/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=422901.
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Ward 3 Democratic Committee Mayoral Forum,
February 11
Anne Loikow,
aloikow@verizon.net
The Ward 3 Democratic Committee is proud to announce an issues forum
for candidates for mayor in the April 1 Democratic primary election on
Tuesday, February 11, at 7:00 p.m., at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church
(Great Hall), 4201 Albemarle Street, NW, one block past Wisconsin Avenue
and Albemarle Street, NW, from the Tenleytown Metro stop on the Red
Line. The candidates who have confirmed, in alphabetical order, are
Muriel Bowser, Jack Evans, Vincent Gray, Reta Jo Lewis, Vincent Orange,
Andy Shallal, and Tommy Wells. The forum will be moderated by ABC 7/WJLA-TV
journalist Bruce DePuyt with political analyst Mark Plotkin. To learn
more about the Ward 3 Democratic Committee, see our web site at
http://www.ward3democrats.com.
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