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Candidates Address Business Concerns
D.C. resident Ralph Telfort, center, attends the mayoral forum, which was photographed by Maurice, right, and James, far right, students in a photography program for people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.
(By Lois Raimondo -- The Washington Post)
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During the forum, moderator Tom Sherwood, a reporter for WRC-TV (Channel 4), who asked questions along with Washington Post deputy editorial page editor Colbert I. King and Washington Business Journal reporter Sean Madigan, resurrected a challenge to Fenty to name the three bond rating agencies. Only able to name one at a forum last year, Fenty answered all three in quick succession but stumbled a bit in detailing why a good bond rating is important to the city.
Fenty, who heads the council's Human Services Committee, was a surprising no-show last night at a forum organized by the city's disability community. Cropp, Johns, Orange and four lesser-known mayoral contenders made appearances, but Fenty said he had a scheduling conflict.
"There are so many different things going on," he said later of the campaign's pace.
Fenty has called for creating a single Cabinet-level department for issues involving the disabled, who make up about 22 percent of the city's population.
Johns and Cropp said it would be better to make existing agencies more accountable for improving services.
"We need to look at the best practices at cities that do it well," Cropp said. "We don't need to spend money re-inventing the wheel."
All the candidates at the forum said they would be more inclusive in considering people with disabilities for city jobs. Each pledged to meet, if elected, with a delegation from the disability community before the new administration takes office.
Staff writer David Nakamura contributed to this report.
