D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp positioned herself as a champion of District residents late last year when she demanded that Mayor Anthony A. Williams find private financing to help build a baseball stadium.
Cropp said she was uncomfortable with the mayor's proposal to use mostly public funds for the $535 million project. Last week, however, Cropp's search for private money met a quiet demise.
After reviewing eight offers from private companies, city leaders in recent months eliminated all but the one from Deutsche Bank. But Cropp (D) said last week that she would not bring the Deutsche Bank proposal forward for a vote because it has little support on the council.
Cropp expressed few regrets about her ballpark financing efforts in a recent interview.
"You've got to try for private financing because if you don't, you're definitely not going to get anything," Cropp said, sitting in her wood-paneled corner office at city hall. "All in all, I am thrilled in hindsight with the position I had taken. What I hear from citizens is a round of applause. Citizens come up to me and say, 'Thank you.' They're thrilled."
Some residents, however, have mixed views.
"It's a big disappointment," said Veronica Raglin, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 6. "She should have been stronger or not gotten into the fight."
But Grace J. Lewis, who heads the North Michigan Park Civic Association, said that the end of private financing "should not have an adverse reaction on people's feelings toward [Cropp]. She did what she could and left the door open [for private money]. Nothing was on the table to meet the council's expectations . . . and we have to move forward."
Many city leaders and activists viewed her position in the stadium debate as a sign that Cropp, long considered a coalition builder, was staking her independence from Williams (D) in preparation for a mayoral bid. Some accused her of using the issue to grandstand for potential voters.
Although Cropp is deliberating whether to enter the race, Ron Lester, who has conducted opinion polls of likely D.C. voters, said the stadium debate has raised her profile and approval rating.
Williams still can choose to enter into a private financing agreement with Deutsche Bank, but that is unlikely, aides said.
"Nobody is as closely associated with private financing as she is," Lester said. "However, she will be evaluated ultimately on how the [financing] deal turns out. If they find a good private plan, it's a win-win for Linda Cropp. But if it ends up, say, 70 percent public money and 30 percent private, people may be disappointed."
