Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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?

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.

This sounds like it was written by somebody that wants someone’s job. There are a lot of competent and incompetent people in DC government. Take that Deputy Director who had 2 jobs or the other Deputy Director who took bribes. Or even further back that Deputy Mayor who got into a fight in the parking lot. I don’t work for the government but I did many years ago. It is stressful and unappreciated work and the pay is not great for the amount of work the employees have to do.

You don’t have to want someone’s job to see this. A blind man could make these observations. Those of us who have been around DC government for awhile talk about this a lot. The lack of skill, ability and political savy is glaring and embarassing. If you’re in this office, tighten up instead of being sensitive about criticism. If people didn’t want Muriel to do better, we wouldn’t bother to give advice. Grow up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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?

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.

This sounds like it was written by somebody that wants someone’s job. There are a lot of competent and incompetent people in DC government. Take that Deputy Director who had 2 jobs or the other Deputy Director who took bribes. Or even further back that Deputy Mayor who got into a fight in the parking lot. I don’t work for the government but I did many years ago. It is stressful and unappreciated work and the pay is not great for the amount of work the employees have to do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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?

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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?

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Anonymous wrote:She’s handling the financial crisis great

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked high up in a District agency for about a year. The disfunction is incredible.
Much of this comes down to the Mayor who surrounds herself with sycophants. She cannot have a bad idea and is so far into her depth chart that the people in charge of many agencies aren't exactly thinkers, so their feedback isn't going to be useful most of the time.

Staff I encountered was usually great though some agency heads want to turn a blind eye to staff corruption.

I encountered really low staff morale, a mostly blase form of management, and a handful of people looking to fill their pockets.

Some agencies big and small seemed to lurch from "emergency" to "emergency" because a random citizen or business would manage to reach the mayor on an issue. Let's say someone emails the mayor directly. She passes that down to a deputy mayor who then forwards the email to an agency director. The director will then direct their agency - sometimes hundreds of people - to address what is in the email. This occurs even if the agency has already been working with the person, has its own complaint system, or, in some cases, has already resolved the issue though not in favor of the person emailing the mayor. None of that matters and significant amounts of daily work will cease until that issue is addressed, even if it is just addressed again.

This means that systemic issues or larger, complex issues are ignored while working on smaller one-off issues that may well be addressed if the larger systemic issues are addressed.

Several agency directors try to always wear something green or have something green available just in case the mayor swings by unannounced or they have to head to the Wilson Building. This not-quite-bunker mentality of needing to soothe the Mayor at all times, even when the Mayor's whims are unpredictable (unless we are talking her biological need of ensuring the DC Chamber is happy.

Why green?

Green Team. That started with Adrian Fenty or even maybe Marion Barry.

She did a great job with the tragic plane crash. Her stock just rose. She can run again and should.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
She did a great job with the tragic plane crash. Her stock just rose. She can run again and should.

Lol, you gotta be kidding. What has she done, other than give briefings? Everything has been run by DC Fire and EMS. Bowser is literally just a figurehead in this whole saga.

Anonymous wrote:
She did a great job with the tragic plane crash. Her stock just rose. She can run again and should.