By David Nakamura and Yolanda Woodlee
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty's decision to select a new police chief without input from his closest advisers surprised and angered some of them and raised concerns about how his maverick style will play out once he heads the D.C. government.
Fenty nominated D.C. police Cmdr. Cathy L. Lanier on Monday to be the city's next chief and, according to Fenty, consulted only his designated city administrator, Dan Tangherlini, on the decision.
Left out of the selection -- arguably the most important a big-city mayor makes -- were the public safety experts on Fenty's transition team, the two chairmen of his campaign and key campaign consultants, including former D.C. police chief Isaac Fulwood Jr. To many, including some close advisers, the process smacked of a headstrong young mayor-in-waiting who appears to be relying on a committee of one to make critical decisions.
"The more you can vet this up front, the more you can avoid a contentious confirmation process," warned Vincent C. Gray (D), who in January will take over as chairman of the D.C. Council. Although the council probably will confirm the nomination of Lanier, a 16-year veteran and protege of Chief Charles H. Ramsey, none of the lawmakers were asked about her. Fenty offered Lanier the job three days after the election and kept the choice a secret until hours before his announcement Monday.
Fulwood, who advised Fenty on public safety issues during the campaign, seemed disturbed. "I was not in on the decision-making process," he said, adding that Fenty didn't mention Lanier to him during a brief telephone conversation Sunday. "I was surprised by the choice."
Tom Blagburn, a 23-year police official and member of Fenty's transition team on public safety, said Lanier "wasn't even on the radar screen."
"There must have been a lot of thought and deliberation" on Fenty's part, Blagburn said. But, he added, "anytime you make a major selection like that, you have to engage people. . . . It's very tough if you're mayor to make a decision without anyone else knowing about it."
For a candidate who swept the city's 142 precincts by establishing himself as a populist, Fenty, 35, has begun to develop a counterintuitive reputation as someone who eschews dialogue and consultation in favor of action and expediency.
He has filled other cabinet posts in nearly identical fashion. He announced after winning the Democratic primary in September that he probably would seek a takeover of the public school system -- even though he never mentioned the idea during the campaign. And he fired his longtime campaign spokesman by telephone shortly after the primary.
Some wonder whether this approach signals an impulsive nature that could create trouble as Fenty leads the city's 34,000-employee bureaucracy.
Fenty, who takes office Jan. 2, scoffed at suggestions that he is rash and insular. He noted that he conducted a two-year, door-to-door campaign in which he talked to thousands of residents.
"Having run for mayor for two years, I think I have a really good idea what people are looking for," Fenty said. "In a new way, the campaign had me listen to the advisers, which are the people of the District of Columbia. I really take a lot of their concerns to heart in my decision-making process."
But some of those residents are already restless. Ronald Moten, a community organizer from River Terrace who campaigned for Fenty in Ward 7, had hoped that Fenty would have considered other options for police chief, including Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe, a well-regarded former D.C. commander.
"In regards to these appointments, I don't want him to lose what got him elected as far as being in contact and listening to people who are in the community," Moten said. "I never assumed he was going to rush and move as fast as he did."
Betty Lewis, a 22-year resident of Ward 7 who supported Fenty during the campaign, was even more blunt: "We have been bamboozled by Fenty. I should have listened to the people who knew Fenty . . . who said, 'He's not ready.' "
In contrast to his critics, Fenty believes the secrecy behind his choice for police chief was a major coup. For more than a week, Fenty had kept Lanier's name out of the headlines until he had worked out a severance package with Ramsey. And Fenty avoided criticism of his choice before he nominated Lanier on Monday. He staged the announcement with Ramsey and Lanier at his side, each saying glowing things about the other.
"We wanted her to be judged up or down based on qualifications, not what others think," Fenty said. "We want to hear opinions, but there's a nomination process for that."
Fenty also suggested he has been unofficially vetting his appointees for years. As the council's Ward 4 representative for six years, he worked closely with many of them, including Tangherlini, Lanier and newly appointed deputy mayors Neil O. Albert and Victor A. Reinoso.
Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who served four terms as mayor, said he approached the job of choosing lieutenants differently.
"My style would be to talk to a lot of people," Barry said. "I just value input. Politically, it works for me. It's good to listen to a large range of people. It makes people feel they're a part of what you're doing. Four or five heads are better than one."
Some council colleagues said the public should not be surprised by Fenty's independent style because he has operated in largely the same fashion for the past six years. During the campaign, opponents charged that Fenty often opposed legislation but did not work collaboratively to offer better options. For example, he was the only council member to vote against emergency crime legislation offered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) this summer but offered no alternative.
On the other hand, some believe Fenty's appeal to the community came in large part because he was not endorsed by many of the major interest groups -- such as business leaders -- and that he comes to the mayor's office beholden to few.
Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) said Fenty has tremendous community support and is doing what he believes is best. "This man has a mandate from the people, and this is his team," he said.
Bill Lightfoot, a former council member who managed Fenty's campaign and now co-chairs his transition, said yesterday that he doesn't always agree with Fenty's approach. During the primary campaign, for example, Lightfoot and fellow Fenty adviser Jim Hudson counseled him to launch negative ads against opponent Linda W. Cropp, the council chairman.
Fenty refused, and Lightfoot now acknowledges that Fenty made the right call. After all, Fenty beat Cropp in a rout.
"Adrian listens to many people but keeps his own counsel," Lightfoot said. "His style of government will be aggressive, quick, decisive. . . . We have to all recognize that Adrian has a different management style than we're accustomed to. We elected a young mayor with a different way of looking at government."
Staff writer Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.
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