Are DC residents unhappy with Fenty?

[Anonymous]

I live in Maryland and don't follow the day to day stuff in town, but is there dissatisfaction with his administration? If so, why?

[Anonymous]

I voted for him in the primary. When he won the primary, he was basically already mayor because we have so few Republicans. THEN he announced he would take over the school system. I was willing to be convinced this was a good thing but I basically felt that he was uninterested in citizen input in the way he did it. Then he hired Rhee who had little experience running a huge bureaucracy. Yes, she went around saying how important good teaching is [duh! anyone disagree with that?] but did she say anything about how to get paychecks to people on time and keep adequate employment records?

And he said that the current head, Dr. Janey (who had some interesting proposals), wasn't moving fast enough to improve the system. But *now* Rhee is saying it will take years to see improvements from her reforms. But that's just what Janey said!

It may be that Rhee will be successful (am trying to withhold judgment for now) but I'm nervous about her. And Fenty doesn't seem to care whether he includes anyone else in these critically important decisions. It's not enough to say the system sucks -- I know that. My kid was in DCPS for 9 years. Make me believe that you know how to fix it and that you care what I think about it.

[jsteele]

Fenty and I live in the same neighborhood and I knew him when he was a simple ANC commissioner. I strongly supported in Council run and originally supported his Mayoral bid. However, a couple of months before the primary, I started to have interactions with his campaign that made me uncomfortable with him. After a few weeks of pondering things, I switched my support to Marie Johns.

When, as the previous poster mentioned, Fenty announced his school takeover plan after the primary, that sealed it for me. For all the years that I had known Fenty, what I liked most about him were his visibility in the community and great communication skills. I saw him as a populist who would work with the community and welcome citizen input. After the primary, he showed himself to be uninterested in citizens' opinions and compliant with the wishes of the Federal City Council and other elites. There has never really been a city-wide vote on his school takeover plan. When it was put before the Council, two wards didn't even have Council Members. With the help of Peter Nickels (Fenty's Dick Cheney), he has tried to run the city like a dictatorship.

All that said, its simply my opinion and, generally, Fenty is very popular among DC residents.

[Anonymous]

May I add one thing I'm dissatisfied with? WMATA is planning a townhouse development adjacent to the Takoma metro station that will obliterate green space and parking, reduce pedestrian safety, and, ridiculously, include two-car garages (at a Metro station!). Fenty has championed this plan despite widespread neighborhood opposition to it. At least in this case, he simply doesn't care about what residents want.

[Anonymous]

I have to disagree with the previous posters. I think Fenty has been doing an admirable job in a very difficult position. I was uneasy when he was elected, but he's been surprising. I agree with his scholl takeover. DC public schools were horrendous and strong intervention was needed. I think Rhee is doing a good job trying to turn them around and has injected new blood and ideas into their management. Previously, sending my kid to the public school down the street wasn't even on the radar. Now, it's becoming reality. Same with many in my neighborhood. I don't think he panders to the council and he's a welcome change from the DC of my childhood. I think he is generally respected.

As for parking by metro- I do favor that. Getting around downtown is a nightmare and if people from the outlying suburbs have the option to drive to a station and then commute in, it relieves congestion and improves the lives of pedestrians who do not have to encounter drivers not used to the city roads.

[Rich]

Anonymous wrote:I have to disagree with the previous posters. I think Fenty has been doing an admirable job in a very difficult position. I was uneasy when he was elected, but he's been surprising. I agree with his scholl takeover. DC public schools were horrendous and strong intervention was needed. I think Rhee is doing a good job trying to turn them around and has injected new blood and ideas into their management. Previously, sending my kid to the public school down the street wasn't even on the radar. Now, it's becoming reality. Same with many in my neighborhood. I don't think he panders to the council and he's a welcome change from the DC of my childhood. I think he is generally respected.

As for parking by metro- I do favor that. Getting around downtown is a nightmare and if people from the outlying suburbs have the option to drive to a station and then commute in, it relieves congestion and improves the lives of pedestrians who do not have to encounter drivers not used to the city roads.

I think you misunderstood the comment about parking at Takoma Metro by the previous poster (I guess I'm not the only Takoman on here). The plan cuts public parking in favor of two-car private garages. It also limits future expansion of bus facilities.

But this controversy has been going on since Fenty's days on the Council, and even earlier, so it may not be too interesting to the OP, except to the extent that it shows a tendency to support developers (who have been very forthcoming in supporting the Mayor and his allies).

[Anonymous]

Rich wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to disagree with the previous posters. I think Fenty has been doing an admirable job in a very difficult position. I was uneasy when he was elected, but he's been surprising. I agree with his scholl takeover. DC public schools were horrendous and strong intervention was needed. I think Rhee is doing a good job trying to turn them around and has injected new blood and ideas into their management. Previously, sending my kid to the public school down the street wasn't even on the radar. Now, it's becoming reality. Same with many in my neighborhood. I don't think he panders to the council and he's a welcome change from the DC of my childhood. I think he is generally respected.

As for parking by metro- I do favor that. Getting around downtown is a nightmare and if people from the outlying suburbs have the option to drive to a station and then commute in, it relieves congestion and improves the lives of pedestrians who do not have to encounter drivers not used to the city roads.

I think you misunderstood the comment about parking at Takoma Metro by the previous poster (I guess I'm not the only Takoman on here). The plan cuts public parking in favor of two-car private garages. It also limits future expansion of bus facilities.

But this controversy has been going on since Fenty's days on the Council, and even earlier, so it may not be too interesting to the OP, except to the extent that it shows a tendency to support developers (who have been very forthcoming in supporting the Mayor and his allies).

Thanks, Rich; I'm the PP whose comments you clarified. I appreciate your ability to frame my position more articulately than I could myself. I am disappointed that the plan will eliminate parking, which is already minimal at Takoma, and add two-car garages to townhouses built at a Metro station. It's hugely ironic and I oppose letting private development take precedence over public transit and public safety.

Thanks again from a fellow Takoman.