Not a Lone Voice in the Wilderness

The bold policy decision by a young, populist mayor. The vocal community opposition. The long, rough-and-tumble political fight. The hard work in tackling entrenched problems after the politics have subsided.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) might have felt as though he was fighting a lonely battle during his controversial takeover of the D.C. public schools. But at least one person, 3,000 miles away, says he can understand what Fenty was going through.

"It's just so familiar, all of it," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D), who was in town this week for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and dropped in to visit Fenty on Tuesday. "The highs, the lows, the predictability of the opposition, the school takeover, exactly who's coming out against it, what they'd say. I could write the script."

Newsom did not take over the San Francisco schools, but he made enough changes to empathize. Fenty and Newsom became friends in October 2006, when Fenty, fresh off of winning the Democratic primary, visited San Francisco, among other cities, as part of a mission to learn "best practices."

During that meeting, Newsom and Fenty met in the mayor's suite for more than an hour, talking about services for the homeless, the cabinet selection process and how to deal with the media. Newsom advised Fenty not to make too many promises to constituents about immediate improvements to troubled agencies. And Newsom noted that the media would praise Fenty's initiatives for his first year before turning on him and writing about all the things he failed to do in subsequent years.

"You'll get two years. I really meant two," Newsom told Fenty with a chuckle after the mayors were reminded of that conversation by a reporter Tuesday. "Third year, look out."

"I didn't get a year. I got about three months," Fenty joked.

Newsom won a second four-year term in the fall, despite a well-publicized affair with the wife of his campaign manager.

Turning serious, Fenty recalled that Newsom advised him to "do the controversial stuff early" while at the peak of his political clout after winning election.

"When I got on the plane" Monday night to come to the District, Newsom responded, "my people were saying that you had taken a lot of heat for taking over the schools. But I said, 'He's done it. That's what he's about.' At least, you have the courage to take something on and did not sit there saying, 'Coulda, woulda, shoulda.' "

As well as the two mayors got along, they were divided on one thing: Fenty is supporting Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination and Newsom is backing Hillary Rodham Clinton.

An Online Push for a Ward 4 Campaign

Right now, it is nothing more than an invitation on a Shepherd Park Internet mailing list.

But apparently, there's a movement afoot in Ward 4 to draft none other than Michael A. Brown to take on Muriel Bowser again in a rematch of last spring's special election to replace Fenty on the D.C. Council. Bowser (D) won and her term concludes at the end of this year. She is likely to run for reelection in the fall.

Brown, who had run for mayor in 2006 before dropping out and endorsing Fenty's chief opponent, Linda W. Cropp (D), raised thousands of dollars for the special election. But he was no match against Fenty's political engine, which backed Bowser.

The Internet mailing list invitation simply said: "The party to draft Michael A. Brown to be the Ward 4 Councilperson, is rescheduled. The new date is Thursday, January 31, 2008. The time and place remain the same. I hope everybody can come."

It offers no clue as to how many people are involved. Dwayne Revis, a Brown supporter and local ward activist, is listed as the host of the committee meeting.

Revis listed his home address in Northwest and his phone number on the e-mail for those with questions before the meeting. Efforts to reach Revis before the Notebook's deadline were unsuccessful.

Brown said he is aware of the committee, but he has not attended any meetings about the effort. Undying politician that he is, he can't help but be flattered. "I'm evaluating the draft committee's recommendations," Brown said. "My commitment remains strong, not only for Ward 4, but the entire city."