Fenty Seeks To Inspire, But Instead Infuriates

When the mayor showed up at Turner Elementary in Southeast, one man shouted out to him. Fenty, who had taken a seat in the rear of the gymnasium where the hearing was taking place, looked tired and uncomfortable. It was raining outside, and he had changed his trademark felt fedora for a black knit skullcap. Fenty responded to the man in a loud voice, asking him several times: "What's your question?"

The man, Kevin Richardson, who had his 10-year-old twins in tow, finally explained that he was angry that his children would no longer be able to attend nearby Green Elementary, which was slated for closure. Fenty got up and approached Richardson, handing him a business card and suggesting he follow up with an e-mail, but that did little to pacify Richardson.

"They're trying to do a rush job," he said later of Fenty and Rhee, "and if you do a rush job, it could all collapse."

Those comments echoed the belief of some who have complained that the Fenty administration is fast on action and short on substance, even as the mayor's supporters say he is making headway against deeply entrenched problems.

At another stop that night, a teacher from Hine Junior High confronted Fenty to complain that her school would be closed. Lecturing the younger mayor, the woman reminded him that his mother had been a teacher, too, and wondered how she would have felt if her school had gone out of business. Fenty did not respond, but instead asked the woman to step outside into the cold evening rain. He motioned for a reporter who had been shadowing him to step away so he and the woman could speak in private. Fenty put on his cap, turned up the collar on his overcoat and gave her an impassive stare. The conversation lasted about 10 minutes. Neither party appeared happy.

It is not uncommon for mayors to face resistance when they try to change the traditional way of doing the government's business. Fenty had a 72 percent approval rating across the city after his first year, according to a Washington Post poll. But former mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), who enjoyed a 77 percent approval rating after his first year in 2000, saw his support drop steadily to 54 percent by his final year in office. He attributes the decline to polarizing actions, including firing workers, closing D.C. General Hospital and focusing massive redevelopment downtown.

"You cause some concern among the workforce, and you lose some political support in some quarters, certainly with the workers, " Williams said of the kinds of decisions Fenty is making. "What Adrian is doing, he should be commended for. . . . He has a sense of the most important things for his administration and is focusing on them like a laser, and he's willing to take a risk."

That said, Williams added that Fenty must "balance the carrot and the stick. You do not want too much of either. . . . A mayor must do positive things so people can see positive things are happening even with the pain."

Fenty appeared mindful of that Friday morning, looking refreshed when he joined Rhee to roll out plans for a $1.5 million expansion of Saturday classes for struggling students, a move they said would show that the administration is serious about adding resources to the classroom. He also found time during the week to present certificates of appreciation to two transportation workers who had helped save a man from a burning building in November.

But Fenty's performance during the meeting with the social workers overshadowed those actions. City Administrator Dan Tangherlini, who attended that gathering, said the mayor's intention was to "be clear that expectations have changed and that there is clear accountability." Fenty declined to discuss the confrontation.

Tangherlini, a former member of Williams's cabinet, said Williams was successful in restoring basic competence to a government that had been almost completely broken. Fenty, by comparison, has a different challenge, Tangherlini said: He must improve on Williams's record, making the government's service consistently good and establishing exceptional service as standard practice.

"That," Tangherlini added, "takes a long time."

As Fenty wrapped up his meeting with the social workers, the woman he had dismissed returned to the auditorium, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. Afterward, the official said, that woman approached the mayor and they had a "full conversation."

Staff writer Petula Dvorak contributed to this report.