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Williams makes right call for voters to 'sober up'

By Adrienne Washington
September 8, 2006

Rarely do I agree with D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams, but today I will make an exception.
    "I think we need to sober up and really face what's at risk here," Mr. Williams said in a last-ditch effort to bolster D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp's crippled mayoral campaign.
    Yet too many folks are recklessly suggesting that D.C. residents vote against their own self-interest come Tuesday's Democratic primary. Why else would they promote the mayoral candidacy of an unproven and, quite frankly, unqualified neophyte such as Ward 4 council member Adrian M. Fenty?
    Knocking on doors from sunup to sundown does not a mayor make. Running a campaign and running a government require very different skill sets. Mr. Fenty has demonstrated he is great at the former; Mrs. Cropp is great at the latter, and the more important.
    "This is a lady who has great respect in Congress, great respect in the city, great respect on Wall Street," Travelin' Tony said in response to the Other Paper's backhanded endorsement of Mr. Fenty. "Now how do you go from there to, 'Let's just throw a 90-yard bomb,' hope for the best and go through a couple of years of mistakes with an unproven candidate?"
    The Bow Tie Bandit ought to know about "hope for the best." His learning curve was pretty painful, but at least he had managerial experience and a robust economy to mask his shortcomings.
    Admittedly, I agreed with The Washington Times' editorial endorsement of former utility executive and community patron Marie C. Johns. She is bright, and she brings innovation, experience as well as passion to the head of the mayor's round table.
    But if the choice is between the media-made front-runners, now is not the time to bet the mortgage money on a lottery ticket.
    The mayor's office is not the place for on-the-job training. With the chief financial officer predicting a stagnant economy, a forerunner of unpopular budget cuts, this city will need more than a wing and a prayer for a hopeful future.
    Mr. Fenty's popularity has a lot to do with the fact that he has not had to say "no" to anyone who asks him for anything. Those promises he passes out like lollipops are bound to come back and bite him.
    Yes, there is a "chance" that the young, energetic Mr. Fenty could surprise those who think they know better, by settling down, focusing for longer than it takes to utter a pithy sound bite, put down his BlackBerry and pay attention, then miraculously metamorphosing into a financially capable leader. A slim chance.
    Institutional memory is in short supply this election cycle, with more than 20 percent of the electorate having never cast a ballot in the District before. Thank Mr. Williams for the gentrification-driven change in demographics from which Mr. Fenty, not Mrs. Cropp, now benefits.

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