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an independent newspaper EDITORIALS
Preserving D.C.’s hard-won gains Why oust the architect of progress?
T IS SHAPING UP as a tough year for in- cumbents, and Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who faces a tough renomination chal- lenge Tuesday, may become one of the casu- alties. A deep recession understandably has many voters in a mood for change, and Mr. Fenty, as has been well chronicled, deepened his jeopardy with a style that has struck many residents as disre- spectful. On top of that, his opponent, D.C. Coun- cil Chairman Vincent C. Gray, is well liked and re- spected for his decades of community service. So why aren’t we climbing aboard the Gray bandwagon? A front-page story in The Post last week provides some explanation. It described how Mr. Gray took charge of a deeply troubled city department in 1991 — and left it, four years later, marginally better in some areas, worse in others and overall still a deeply troubled agency. We worry that a similar style of honorable inten- tions, deference to entrenched interests and modest ambition could set the city back at a moment when it could be taking huge strides forward. If Mr. Gray wins, of course we will hope from
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day one that we are wrong, and we will root for his success. But the striking thing about this race is that there is no need to take that gamble: Mr. Gray’s opponent is a known commodity with a re- cord of accomplishments unique to the District and rare for any big-city mayor. What’s not in dis- pute as voters head to the polls is the belief that, finally, the District is headed in the right direc- tion — and that it was Mr. Fenty who brought about the needed change.
Prince George’s R
on the cusp In the county executive race, a break from the past, or more of the same?
ESIDENTS OF Prince George’s County de- serve better than the mediocre local lead- ership they’ve had in recent years. Unac- countable, scandal-plagued incumbents
in top local offices have contributed to widespread disappointment at the county’s substandard schools, high crime rate and woeful shortage of good employers, good shopping and good restau- rants. For many of its citizens, Prince George’s has become synonymous with unfulfilled promise. Lackluster political leadership is not exclusively to blame for these problems, but it’s been an im- portant factor. Too many of the county’s elected of- ficials have succumbed to a culture of cronyism, entitlement and impunity. In interviews with the crop of 40-odd candidates running for the County Council, we were struck by how few of them felt the need to advance any concrete, well-thought- out ideas to address the county’s challenges. The county needs new thinking, new energy
and new blood, particularly in the top local office of county executive. As we said in a previous edito- rial, we believe Rushern L. Baker III offers all of that, in addition to rich experience as a state legis- lator who was highly respected for his integrity, in- genuity and openness. More than any candidate in the race for county executive, which will be decid- ed in the Democratic primary this Tuesday, Mr. Ba- ker holds the promise of a break from the past, and from a closed, old-school leadership style in- adequate to the demands of 900,000 citizens in the nation’s largest jurisdiction with a middle- class, African American majority. By contrast, we remain more concerned than
ever about the man who appears to be Mr. Baker’s main rival in the race, Michael A. Jackson. Mr. Jackson, who has served as county sheriff for the past eight years, is a likable man. But in a number of important respects, he would represent a con- tinuation of the status quo in Prince George’s; lit- tle wonder that he has the backing of so many al- lies and aides of the current county executive, Jack B. Johnson. Like Mr. Johnson, Mr. Jackson seems intolerant of dissent and appears to rely on a closed circle of political associates. Like Mr. Johnson, he seems oddly estranged from up-to-date thinking about policy, governance and administration. And like Mr. Johnson, he seems unwilling to insist on high standards of ethics in office — particularly in the case of his own political allies. All that was on display in a sworn deposition
Mr. Jackson gave last month. (To view a videotape of the deposition, go to
http://www.viddler.com/ explore/alwayswatchinpg/videos/1/.) The depo- sition was in connection with a corruption case in- volving two high-ranking members of the sheriff’s
By now, Mr. Fenty’s accomplishments also have been well chronicled. The list is long: public safe- ty improvements, school reform, innovations in transportation, new recreation facilities, respon- sive government agencies. We fear, though, that voters may forget the obstacles that Mr. Fenty had to overcome in bringing change to the city. Even more worrisome would be to assume that this hard-fought progress will simply continue as a matter of course. It took Mr. Fenty and his par- ticular brand of no-excuses determination to pro- duce the results now being hailed by so many. Everyone now claims to be for school reform.
But generations of D.C. elected officials accepted as a matter of course a system in which children didn’t get textbooks, classrooms didn’t get heat and achievement was neither expected nor sought. Failure was not only tolerated, it was re- warded until Mr. Fenty showed the courage to take on the status quo. He knew Washington could never be a world-class city with such de- plorable schools. He also knew that every year without change meant another cohort of Wash- ington youth deprived of opportunity. Problems persist, of course, but reforms under-
taken by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee are beginning to produce results in the way of im- proved test scores and enrollment gains. Long notorious for having the country’s worst school system, the District now is held out as a national model for school reform. Many of those who fought the mayor hardest against that reform now have embraced Mr. Gray’s candidacy. We don’t discount concerns about Mr. Fenty’s
sometimes immature behavior, concerns that we have returned to from time to time throughout his first term. We’ve worried too about the lack of judgment reflected in the choice of some of his friends, though such concerns extend as well to Mr. Gray’s circle of friends who date their involve- ment in city affairs to the unsavory mayoralty of Marion Barry. It is maddening that someone as dedicated to city improvement as Mr. Fenty, who was able to win support from every precinct four years ago, would squander so much goodwill and political capital, thus jeopardizing the accom- plishments of his administration. But it troubles us more that so much of Mr.
Gray’s campaign has focused on the mayor’s per- sonal failings, rather than on any advocacy for an alternative policy agenda. There have been com- plaints about Mr. Fenty’s tendency to go outside the city’s political establishment to staff his ad- ministration, yet almost everyone agrees that his key appointments — police chief, schools chan- cellor, fire chief, transportation chief and more — have been stellar. Often during the campaign it has seemed that voters heard more about Mr. Fenty’s lack of courtesy toward council members than about what they could expect from a Gray administration. It’s no knock on Mr. Gray personally to say that
Mr. Fenty has delivered results, which is not all that common in the challenging world of big-city administration. Considering how those results have made Washington a better city, we hope vot- ers give him a chance to continue the progress for four more years.
TOM TOLES
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
dletters@washpost.com
Pakistan’s flood-relief plan
Contrary to Ahmed Rashid’s dismissive assessment of flood relief and rehabilitation efforts [“In Pakistan, a flood of aid and mistrust,” op-ed, Sept. 6], the people of Pakistan and the international community have placed their confidence in the abilities of the federal and provincial governments and Pakistani national in- stitutions such as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to help flood victims. The floods have affected more people — 20 million
— than were affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsu- nami, Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti combined. The cost of rehabilitation and rebuilding could exceed $15 billion. Pakistanis are brave and resilient. I am optimistic we will emerge from this disaster and build a new and better life for our people. Pakistan’s government has developed an effective strategy to channel domestic and international aid to the devastated areas, and it has responded efficiently and transparently. NADEEMH. KIANI,Washington
The writer is press attaché at the Pakistan Embassy. Fast tree-trimming from Pepco
I believe that Pepco is making substantial efforts to improve its services to residents in our area [“Holding Pepco accountable,” editorial, Aug. 24]. Here’s a good example: Several branches on a tree recently were touching the wires leading to our house. I phoned Pepco, us- ing its number for reporting downed electric lines and potential problems and emphasizing that there was no emergency. The Pepco representative took down my information and stated that the company would look into it. Less than 20 minutes after my phone call, two men with a Pepco tree-trimming truck (with cherry picker and chipper) stopped at our house. After looking at the problem, the Pepco crew trimmed the tree branches, stuffed all the downed branches through the chipper, cleaned up the residue and left. I am still stunned by how quickly and efficiently
Pepco responded. You can’t beat this for first-rate service. Don’t count me among Pepco’s critics. GERSON B. KRAMER, Silver Spring
Cage-free eggs are worth the price
The Sept. 7 news story “Egg industry fighting efforts to increase cage sizes” quoted a spokesman for United Egg Producers as saying that banning “battery cages” (in which birds are crammed against one another in a long battery of wire enclosures) might result in a 25 percent increase in the price of eggs, or about 25 cents per dozen. The spokesman actually made the best case for ban- ning battery cages. He demonstrated a callous dis- regard for the comfort of living creatures in the inter- est of saving consumers a few cents a week and ap- peared to believe that the rest of us will accept the practice because we are similarly callous. And he of- fered a common refrain in corporate lobbying: that corporate interests, rather than the government act- ing on behalf of the public, should decide what cost to impose on people, animals and the landscape in com- modities production. In egg production, as in the production of other foods and commodities, legislative and regulatory au- thorities must stand up for the public interest. This case is simple: Let us have and enforce rules against battery cages, pay a little bit more for eggs, avoid hen suffering and human health risks, and move on. CHARLESH. ELLIS III,Washington
Room to dream in Afghanistan
David Ignatius is right. The war in Afghanistan is a “work in progress” [op-ed, Sept. 5]. The difference between large wars that threaten a
department and allies of Mr. Jackson. The two, Lt. Wendy Tyler and Capt. Nancy Ridgely, were in- dicted in July on charges of embezzlement. The video provides a taste of Mr. Jackson’s manage- ment style, priorities and worldview, and it is dis- turbing on all counts.
representing many of his department’s employees. The allegations were contained in an audit per- formed by a qualified accounting firm. Nonethe- less, he said, he refused to examine the evidence or even read the audit report that alleged theft of funds by a deputy in his department. Why? “Union business,” he said. Wasn’t he concerned or curi- ous? “No,” he answered succinctly. Meanwhile, Mr. Jackson actually promoted Ms.
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Tyler, despite the fact that he knew she was under grand jury investigation and despite the fact that she ranked below several other candidates for pro- motion. (Following her indictment, she has since been suspended with pay.) As for Ms. Ridgely, the other senior deputy who was indicted, she has served as a top finance official in Mr. Jackson’s campaign for county executive. Mr. Jackson also sought to justify his depart-
LOCAL OPINIONS 3Join the debate at
washingtonpost.com/localopinions
Virginia’s flawed ID policy
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s ill- conceived and shocking policy not to accept fed- eral employment authorization document (EAD) cards as proof of legal presence for getting a driv- er’s license [“Va. rejects work permits as proof of legal status,” Metro, Sept. 8] will strip thousands of legal immigrants of their ability to drive. Virginia will experience an exodus of hard- working individuals and families that will crip- ple communities and schools and further dam- age our sluggish economy. The lawful immi- grants who stay will be forced to choose between driving without a license (and therefore without insurance) or giving up critical activities such as work or taking their children to the doctor. EAD cards are federally approved identifica- tion and are accepted for employment eligibility
verification. If an employer refused to accept a validly issued EAD card, it could be grounds for an employment discrimination lawsuit. With this policy change, which should be revoked im- mediately, Virginia is discriminating against a large number of immigrants legally present and entitled to licenses. Further, Virginia is treading on federal pre- emption territory by its arbitrary decision that a federally issued document is suspect. The lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles are long enough — do we really want low-level state em- ployees questioning the validity of a federally is- sued document? The answer is no. LISA JOHNSON-FIRTH,Manassas
The writer is a lawyer with an immigration and human rights law firm.
r. Jackson acknowledged he was pre- sented months before with serious alle- gations that funds were stolen from the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the union
ment’s reprimand of and other actions against Cpl. Robert Cease, a deputy sheriff who was the whistle-blower in the embezzlement case. Mr. Cease, who is president of the deputy sheriffs union, was warned not to speak about the case publicly, and his use of an official car was curtailed by the department. Asked about his department’s treatment of Mr. Cease, Mr. Jackson called him “quite a disrespectful young man.” Asked if it was appropriate to take actions against a whistle- blower who had helped uncover serious allega- tions of embezzlement, Mr. Jackson replied that he was unfamiliar with the term “whistle-blower.” Mr. Jackson has previously been criticized, in- cluding by this page, for his refusal to admit wrongdoing by his deputies in the shooting deaths of two dogs in an ill-conceived raid on the home of a local mayor. His office is under fire for mis- handling arrest warrants, including its failure to post a warrant for a man wanted on assault charg- es who later shot his teenage girlfriend. Mr. Jack- son’s deposition testimony reinforces the impression of an official who is loath to admit mistakes, reluctant to take strong action to uproot corruption and in thrall to a closed circle of loy- alists. These are not the attributes of a strong county executive, nor would they help to reform and revive a county whose abundant promise re- mains unfulfilled.
ABCDE
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Lights out for manufacturing? My heart goes out to the GE workers in Winchester,
Va., whose incandescent light-bulb plant is being closed [“How innovation killed the lights,” front page, Sept. 8]. As long as people in developing countries are willing to work for a fraction of the wages that U.S. workers expect, President Obama’s vision of a manu- facturing resurgence will remain a mirage. Now, another 200 workers soon will be unem- ployed. Why? Because people are demanding fluores- cent lights? I sincerely doubt it. Quantity does not equal quality — neither in the output of a light bulb nor in the brilliance of Congress. MARCIA D’ARCANGELO, Alexandria
nation and small ones such as that in Afghanistan, however, is that commanders in small wars rarely ad- mit a cause is lost because the military itself is not in danger. In large wars that threaten whole armies, com- manders are much quicker to warn of defeat when such warnings are appropriate. JEFFREYBROOKS, Baltimore
A solid basis for drone strikes
The Sept. 6 editorial “Target: Americans,” concern- ing the CIA drone strike authorized against Anwar al- Aulaqi, an American-born cleric living in Yemen, said that the president should “consider making public the general criteria — excluding ultra-sensitive methods and sources — that it uses to designate an individual for the target list.” That’s an excellent idea. The U.S. government has been sued for targeting a U.S. citizen without ex- plaining how he meets the criteria of who may lawful- ly be killed as an enemy belligerent as part of the “war on terror.” Yet the problem is not only the targeting of U.S. citizens. It is that the United States is engaged in a widely publicized program of targeting suspected combatants using unmanned aerial drones, often far from any proclaimed battlefield. Whether this is legal depends not just on the citizen- ship of the target but on whether the individual is ac- tually an enemy belligerent or a citizen directly partici- pating in hostilities against the United States. Interna- tional law does not permit the targeting of anyone who merely supports or promotes an enemy organization. Using the CIA to secretly target suspected belliger- ents around the world, without a U.S. explanation of why this is legally justified, could backfire by helping al-Qaeda win many more new recruits than the United States can eliminate. Clarifying the criteria used to de- termine who qualifies as a lawfully targetable enemy belligerent would not undermine the U.S. war effort; on the contrary, it would make it more effective. DAPHNEEVIATAR,New York
The writer is a senior associate with the Law and Security Program at Human Rights First.
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