The Dysfunction Williams Didn't Tackle

The night before D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams announced he was standing by his man, embattled Fire Chief Adrian Thompson, Virginia Rosenbaum, the wife of slain New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum, quietly passed away. This has been a tragic year for the Rosenbaum family. The mayor's vote of confidence in the chief who stoutly defended his department's indefensible response to the fatally injured journalist was one more blow that Rosenbaum's family and friends didn't deserve.

Of course that may be the least of the mayor's concerns. At Thursday's press briefing, Williams proclaimed that "the chief is here to stay." He forgot to add, however, "not for long."

With D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp and Ward 4 council member Adrian Fenty -- the two Democratic front-runners for mayor -- calling this week for Thompson's resignation or firing, the chief may have six months left in his job, after which he will likely follow his mayor out the door.

But today's thoughts aren't about the mayor's fire chief. The larger concern centers on the kind of government the next mayor will inherit.

Williams can boast, as he did on Capitol Hill this week, that he's leaving the city in excellent fiscal health. But he should have given credit where it's due. The city is in good shape because of a robust regional and national economy over which he has no control. The city has also been helped by a more fiscally responsible D.C. Council and by the independent chief financial officer, Natwar Gandhi, who has managed to keep everybody honest.

Without Gandhi, the council's fiscal prudence and the years of heavy lifting by the Financial Control Board, Tony Williams would be in no position to point with pride at the city's financial standing.

Granted, the next mayor will assume the reins of a fiscally stable government. The new leader will also inherit a good capital investment program for the public schools and major street corridors, an admirable program for health care coverage, and library projects that will take the system to a new level.

Unfortunately, Mr. Williams's successor also will be saddled with a government besieged by an entrenched bureaucracy.

Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby put his finger on the problem this week in testimony before the council on the Rosenbaum case. His investigation found that multiple employees from various agencies failed multiple times to comply with policies, procedures and protocols. That, Willoughby said, suggests "an impaired work ethic." The inspector general was referring to Chief Thompson's department, the Metropolitan Police Department and Howard University Hospital's emergency department.

But as the next mayor will soon find out, an "impaired work ethic" can be found in other city agencies.

The apathy and complacency that the IG's inspectors and investigators found during their review of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services and Police departments are attitudes that can be found in the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, the Corrections Department, and even the public school system.

Upgrading the quality of the workforce, ridding the system of nonproducers, hiring and promoting well-qualified District residents -- of whom there are many -- are tasks that the incumbent has left for others to champion while he pursued higher-profile development and entertainment projects.

The legacy of Anthony Williams remains to be seen. A new stadium? Yes. A spiffed-up Anacostia waterfront? Likely. A downtown skyline dotted with building cranes? Positively. A condo-crazy capital? You bet.

Added to that list, however, must be the people who have been broken and injured and those who have died because of errors and systemic failures within the government over which Williams has presided for nearly eight years.

That's also his gift to us.

kingc@washpost.com