The word around the John A. Wilson Building is that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) will try to attend several, if not all, of the funerals for the men who were fatally shot last week in Southeast.
Mafara Hobson, a Fenty spokeswoman, did not immediately respond to questions about the mayor's plans. But sources say Fenty wants to attend the funerals.
Big city mayors are usually no strangers to funerals as they seek to fulfill the role of comforter-in-chief. Fenty, however, has appeared hesitant at times to embrace that role.
In December, dozens of current and elected officials attended Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin's funeral, but Fenty was noticeably absent. WTOP radio later reported that Fenty was spotted at a Wizards game in Miami with his wife, Michelle, on the same day as Pollin's funeral in Washington.
Fenty was also criticized last summer for failing to attend several of the funerals for the victims of the Metro train crash. One of the memorial services that Fenty missed was that of Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and his wife, Ann. David Wherley was the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard from July 2003 to June 2008.
But Fenty, who is up for reelection this year, may now be trying to rehabilitate his image in the eastern part of the city.
Last week, some Southeast residents taunted Fenty when he showed up a day late at the site of the scene of the March 30 shooting, which left four dead and five wounded.
The residents questioned why Fenty did not rush to the scene the night of the shooting, suggesting he would have done so if a similar event took place in a wealthier community. The mayor was in Jamaica on vacation with his wife at the time.
--Tim Craig
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