Reply to Not supporting Muriel Bowser anymore

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Who does she have around her helping her? I think her team could be stronger but I think she does the best job she can do. [/quote]

No one is helping her. The Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel (MOLC) is weak and largely absent and when they show up, they are seen horribly fumbling their way through press conferences (where her comms person??). Her Chief of Staff, Lindsay Parker, has the personality of an empty paint can so doesn't have the same persuasive smoothness as Johnny Business.  The Mayor also inherited some Fenty leftovers who were horrible the first go around and have only deteriorated in value the more time has passed. She needs a re-fresh. She needs media savvy, Republican friendly lobbyists to lobby for the District on her behalf. She needs an astute comms person who is quick on his/her feet and has a wide variety of media contacts. She also needs sharper legal staff at her finger tips. One of the benefits of the AG position being an appointed position back in the day is he was able to provide unfettered legal advice to the Mayor on a wide range of issues, which she needs. Now, she just has hangers on working in that office that have the legal acumen of my fungus infected baby toe.[/quote]

Why is MOLC so bad and what are they supposed to do that they are not doing? Why can’t she still get legal advice from the AG and what is the difference between the AG and MOLC? You mentioned her Chief of Staff Lindsay Parker, but what about her Deputy Mayors, advisors and the City Administrator? I see those people with her more during appearances. Are they helpful?[/quote]

I believe prior to 2015, the AG provided legal advice to the Mayor and also served as the 'supervisor' to all of the General Counsels in all of the DC agencies. After 2015, the AG became an elected position and there has been some butting heads and break down in the relationship between the Mayor and the AG. Since the AG no longer provides legal advice to the Mayor, the City erected a new office, the Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel (MOLC), which provides legal counsel to the Mayor and has taken over serving as the supervisory office over all of the General Counsels for the DC agencies under the Mayor's jurisdiction. The MOLC just does not have the same gravitas and staff as the AG's office. The MOLC is filled by political appointees - not necessarily the brightest legal minds - and their staff is small - mostly junior attorneys with no litigation experience who essentially decide FOIA appeals. In comparison, the AG's office is full of attorneys with extensive experience, many of them former fed attorneys or formerly from private practice. Their bench is deep and filled with lots of 'old head' attorneys who have been around a long time and can try cases in their sleep. This is who the AG relies upon for legal advice, research, etc. So the Mayor is not receiving the same level of counsel now that the AG's office is independent. Ideally, the MOLC should not be talking to the press - they are not trained to do that and are not savvy enough to respond the way a real Comms officer would.

Lindsay Parker is smart on paper - I believe she went to Yale. But she does not have type of personality that draws people to her or that can rally the troops. I would not call her savvy. The Mayor really needs that, especially now. True, the Mayor can get advice from her Deputy Mayors, advisors and the City Administrators but dealing with Trump, the Mayor REALLY needs good lawyers to quickly and accurately advise her as to what she can and can't do and how to carefully navigate many of the landmines she will face over the next four years. The MOLC is not up to that. The AG's office can provide advice to the Mayor if the Mayor asks but it is not the same scenario as before, when the AG was under the Mayor's jurisdiction. They have had some decent talent in the MOLC in previous years (Mark Tuohey, Ron Ross and George Valentine) but that is just not the case now.[/quote]

But wouldn’t that same conflict exist with the AG now being elected too? I recall when the AG was elected. Karl Racine fired several exceptionally talented and seasoned attorneys and filled those positions with junior attorneys, so I don’t know if your hypothesis is accurate. I think the Mayor should get outside legal counsel from a private firm. That would cost a fortune but would get her the  she needs. [/quote]

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