![Don Edwards "moderates" the conversation around green issues with the only mayoral candiate present, Vincent Gray](http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/featured_article_image/article-images/gray-green_0.jpg "Don Edwards "moderates" the conversation around green issues with the only mayoral candiate present, Vincent Gray")
Eighty to a 100 people crowded into Busboys & Poets last night to hear incumbent and Mayor Adrian Fenty and his opponent Council Chair Vincent Gray present their positions on Green issues. However, there was no Fenty, no green-clad volunteers with clipboards and no Fenty spokesperson inside or outside the restaurant. For reasons unexplained by Fenty, he chose not to schedule this forum. Perhaps the topic – Sustainable and Local Business – was less important than a forum or meeting conducted elsewhere at the same time for the absent Fenty. But for whatever reason, Fenty gave Gray an uncontested stage on which to talk directly and convincingly to voters about his policy positions on green transportation, Smart Growth and effective support of green businesses.
Gray took a luxurious 12 uninterrupted minutes to explain how the District, the only urban “state” in the union, is a leader in green laws, including requiring new construction to meet LEED standards. Then he hit softball after softball question out of the park. There was no one there to respond to Gray’s statement that Fenty had raided the energy trust fund to meet other District needs, an action that Gray said he would never take as mayor. Similarly, there was no candidate there to challenge Gray’s explanation of his support of a controversial streetcar system, which he said would become a well planned transportation option in his administration.
Last night’s forum planners say that they proposed several dates and gave over a month’s notice when they invited Fenty to participate. The forum joins a growing list of campaign events the Mayor has failed to accept and has left Gray uncontested access to large blocks of voters.
2 Comments For This Article
Fenty not showing at issue forums is not new. The reason I believe he is avoiding them is because he doesn't have a real grasp of these issues. He can't debate them becuase he doesn't know them. He has now ducked forums on Education, HIV/AIDS, Healthcare among others.
I think a great part of the Mayor's problem is that he doesn't read anything. He always says he isn't an expert so he hires good managers. But the reality is that he doesn't even read the reports on these issues that his managers give him.
Fenty brags about driving the city owned smart car himself. Well driving time when you get driven to a meeting or event is when other politicians read reports and work. Fenty doesn't do this. He doesn't do it mornings or weekends as he is busy bicycling. So why are we surprised that he is ducking every issue forum.
I think the people of the District deserve better. I agree that no one can be an expert on everything. But reading and understanding issues at least gives you the ability to ask the right questions. I don't think Fenty has the ability to do that and that is the least we can ask of our Mayor.
One term of Adrian Fenty is really enough. Vincent Gray is a proven manager in both government and the non-profit sector. He may not react as quickly as Fenty but instead he takes the time to get a wide variety of opinions on an issue, has thte knowledge to vet those ideas and opinions and then makes a decision. That is the kind of Mayor I want for the next four years. Less drama, more thougtfulness.
Vince Gray will continue the forward momentum of the City and do it in a way that will bring the hope and chance for advancement to everyone.
Mr Rosenstein, I could not have said it better myself. I couldn't agree with you more. Fenty doesn'r have a full grasp of many issues that he needs to effectively run this city better than he has. He calls discussions like this rhetoric and criticism.
I call them dialogue and debate which leads to the best ideas rising to the top and do-able solutions to the problems we face. Further, these problems are not black problems, white problems, or latino problems - they are District problems and thankfully the solutions are there if a leader can find a way to tap into the vast brain trust the District has to offer.
This can only happen with residents getting involved in their government. Residents, and well-meaning District employees are less likely to get involved in the team effort to collectively solve problems if they are afraid to speak up, or shunned at meetings, and worse yet, residents don't even get the courtesy of being informed in advance the people they hire to run the city won't show up at forums, meetings, and other events where they can voice their concerns and introduce their ideas for discussion.
I think the District residents deserve better. We deserve a Mayor who values voters as much as we value him, and not just around election time.
WE CAN DO BETTER. So please vote responsibly.