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For Guidance, Fenty Turns to a Neighbor
In the latest in a series of meetings with big-city mayors, D.C. mayoral candidate Adrian M. Fenty meets with Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley about CitiStat.
(By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)
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Over an Italian dinner, Crews sketched out a plan for reforming D.C. schools on the back of a restaurant menu. Fenty campaign aide Neil Richardson remembers that "Adrian came back and handed me this menu. I said, 'What the hell is this?' And on the back are all these pie charts and graphs." The menu now hangs in Fenty's campaign office.
Fenty's rivals in the race for mayor criticized his travels, calling them a gimmick aimed at lending gravitas to a political resume largely devoid of major accomplishments.
Fenty's gallivanting makes him look "like a kid about to take an exam," said council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D-Ward 5). "It's hilarious when he says we're going to run this government like a business. Well, what experience does he have? What business has he run?"
Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D) said she doesn't need to waste time running around the country. "I'm here meeting with D.C. citizens and voters," she said during a campaign stop yesterday at a senior citizens center in Foggy Bottom. "Once elected, I've always said I'll look at best practices."
In remarks to the seniors, Cropp, who was running eight points behind Fenty in a recent Washington Post poll, pressed her criticism of Fenty's vote against an emergency crime bill that authorizes a 10 p.m. youth curfew and surveillance cameras in residential neighborhoods. Fenty was the only council member to vote against the legislation two weeks ago, calling it a "knee jerk" reaction to rising crime rates. Campaign aides said Cropp plans to launch a direct-mail campaign as early as tomorrow comparing her record on public safety with Fenty's.
Fenty said he is prepared to respond if attacked. And he defended his travels, saying they have played a major role in shaping his vision for District government.
"One of the best ways to figure out how to be a big-city mayor is by talking to other big-city mayors," he said.
Staff writer David Nakamura contributed to this report.
