A Return Engagement at City Hall

Brooks got off to kind of a slow start Monday, when Fenty had to push Brooks toward the lectern at the Reeves Center, after introducing her to reporters. She appeared almost shy when answering the question put to her from uber-activist Dorothy Brizill, who asked whether Brooks was a resident of the District.

When Brooks said yes, Brizill, who operates the watchdog Web site http://www.dcwatch.com, followed up by asking whether Brooks voted in the District.

No, Brooks acknowledged, she has voted in California, where she used to work for two city governments.

"So you're not a resident, then?" Brizill said.

Brooks agreed that Brizill had a point and promised to change her voter registration in the future. Life in D.C. politics must have suddenly appeared as rough-and-tumble to Brooks as life on the Hill.

Speaking for the Schools

Speaking of new spokespeople, D.C. School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey has hired John C. White as his new chief communications officer to replace Alexis Moore, who departed in January after less than one year on the job.

The office has been short staffed in recent months, with the simultaneous resignations during the summer of Roxanne Evans and Leonie Campbell.

White is a familiar face in D.C. political circles. He was press secretary for council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) from 1987 to 1989 when Barry was mayor. A native of Baltimore, White served as director of communications for the NAACP's national office for the last 7 1/2 years.

White comes at a critical time, with Fenty considering a bid to take direct control of the schools away from the Board of Education. White said he did not anticipate having any input in Janey's response to the Fenty proposal.

"My mission is to help the public understand how well the schools and superintendent carry out their tasks," he said.