College games

A spat between Mr. Fenty and Mr. Gray imperils gains at UDC.

MAYOR ADRIAN M. FENTY and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray are playing political chicken with the University of the District of Columbia. That is a real shame, because for the first time in its troubled history, UDC is showing hopeful signs of progress.

Mr. Fenty and Mr. Gray are at an impasse over who should sit on the board of trustees for the public university. Six seats are vacant, and four more will become vacant on Nov. 11, leaving just five members on the 15-member panel. Most of those remaining on the board are those elected by alumni and student groups. So this diminished board will not reflect the interests of the broader community.

The mayor has the authority to appoint 11 trustees for five-year terms, the council to confirm them. Problems developed last year when Mr. Gray balked at most of the mayor's candidates and refused to hold hearings. The mayor eventually withdrew one, and the others lapsed. A deal that would have seen the two share in the picks apparently foundered. Mr. Fenty submitted seven new candidates, but the council has not acted on them.

Mr. Gray has rightly criticized the mayor, on other matters, for disrespecting the role of the council and not following procedure, so it's ironic that he has refused to give Mr. Fenty's nominees the hearing they are owed and a straight up-or-down vote. That needs to happen; the executive's right to select the people he thinks are best is most appropriately vetted in an open confirmation process. By the same token, Mr. Fenty should see the sense of consulting Mr. Gray on filling the remaining vacancies. The chairman's interest in UDC is genuine, and Mr. Fenty at one point was open to his involvement. Mr. Fenty also needs to let it be known that he has gotten over his upset about not getting his way when the trustees selected, over his objection, Allen L. Sessoms to be president. Mr. Sessoms is making welcome changes at UDC: Enrollment is up, and there's a new sense of mission with a community college well underway.

It is unconscionable that this progress is being threatened by political gamesmanship. Mr. Fenty and Mr. Gray may be political rivals, with Mr. Gray considering a mayoral challenge, but as the city's top leaders they have a responsibility to end this unsavory stalemate.