Ask Adrian Fenty

D.C. Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty was online Thursday, Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. ET to take your questions and comments about his plans for the city.

A transcript follows

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Washington, D.C.: Mayor Fenty,

How do you plan to address the homeless problem in D.C.? Is there a way to help the homeless build new self-sufficient jobs and get them off the street? What are the policies in New York City and would you consider adapting them to D.C.?

Adrian Fenty: Though there are a variety of different factors to solving homelessness, the core of our best practices centers around affordable housing. Our policies will be similar to those found in San Francisco and New York where supportive affordable housing is used instead of sending homeless residents immediately to shelters, wherever and whenever possible.

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Washington, D.C.: What role will arts, culture, and tourism play in your administration?

Adrian Fenty: Culture, arts and tourism are a high priority for the residents of D.C. and, thus, naturally for my administration. We will use scarce government resources aggressively in a way that funds small, neighborhood-based arts programs and projects that leverage a lot of goodwill throughout the city.

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Washington, D.C.: Congratulations on your victory. What is the No. 1 thing you hope to accomplish for the city during your term?

Adrian Fenty: The Number One thing I hope to accomplish is to dramatically improve our public education system

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D.C.: Congrats on becoming mayor.

I believe your hiring of Dan Tangherlini was brilliant and will greatly help you accomplish your goals. How important do you feel the hiring of such people is to a big city mayor, and how do you make sure you hire the right people for each job?

Thank you.

Adrian Fenty: Thanks for your support. Every successful big city mayor I have asked for advice begins by saying, "hire good people." While it is my responsibility to follow-through and provide good oversight over all of my employees, that is much easier and productive when you have people as talented and hard-working as Mr. Tangherlini.

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Washington, D.C.: Are you going to maintain the "ask the Mayor" option on the D.C. Web site?

It, along with the Mayor's Call Center, was one aspect of improvement that I really appreciated. It's nice to know that your problems and questions are really answered by real people who aren't mean or ignorant.

Adrian Fenty: Thanks for the suggestion and, yes, I do intend to keep this option on the D.C. Web site and to find other ways to continue to involve D.C. residents in the improvement of the city.

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Capitol Hill: Will you encourage D.C. police to adopt the "Broken Windows" theory of policing? The same people drinking and doing drugs in our parks and on our sidewalks all day are the same people breaking into our cars and houses at night. Why is it impossible to get a DC cop to arrest someone for public urination, drinking, etc? N.Y.C. and other cities have cracked down on "quality of life" crimes and it's been a huge success both in making the city a decent place to live and in combating crime.

Will D.C. do the same?

Adrian Fenty: I do support the "broken windows" theory for MPD and other support agencies. My management team and I will make sure that our agencies crack down on small, nuisance crimes that not only lower the quality of life in District neighborhoods but lead to more violent crimes.

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Washington, D.C. (Brentwood, NE): Will you be improving the Department of Public Works? In my area, Brentwood, NE, we constantly have to call for cleanups regarding trash and leaves. Where as in upper Northwest, the streets are clear of trash and leaves. Can you assure me of an enhanced process? Thank you!

Adrian Fenty: While the DPW has made steady progress under the current Administration, I do believe that there is a great opportunity to continue that progress and, through aggressive hands-on management to make sure that every District neighborhood is kept clean and safe.

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NW, Washington, D.C.: Congratulations! I just recently moved to the District from Northern Virginia. I am located in the Brightwood area. I would like to know what can be done to limit the number of liquor stores that are in the area? How can we increase economic development on Georgia Avenue?

Adrian Fenty: The Washington Post is actually poised to publish an extensive article on many great development projects happening on Georgia Avenue (or that will soon break ground). The most noteworthy is the Donatelli and Klein mixed-use project at Georgia and New Hampshire with over 100 new housing units and thousands of square feet for neighborhood retail. Combined with the Brightwood lofts at Georgia and Missouri, Georgia Avenue is poised to see the first new multi-family housing in decades. Other similar projects are slated to follow.

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Washington, D.C.: How does the city go from a reported record surplus to a dramatic $300 million deficit in a matter of months? Does this have anything to do with the baseball stadium deal? How are you going to expand District services and address this shortfall at the same time?

Adrian Fenty: The primary cause of the "projected deficit" for the next fiscal year is either 1) an inability to hold down spending or 2) an inability to recoup federal dollars that are available for some health and human services issues. By focusing on these issues now and working with the City Council and the Chief Financial Officer now, it is our intent to submit a balanced-budget early next year.

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13th St SE: Congrats on your win.

Your rise to power was helped in large part by your focus on constituent services as a council member. While that focus is appropriate for council member, a mayor has many other duties that are more pressing. How will you balance your reputation for constituent services with the much broader responsibilities of a mayor.

Thank you.

Adrian Fenty: Similar to a prior response, I believe that the first step in being an effective executive is to hire good people. I will make sure that those managers are engaged and follow-through in the same way I have as a Ward Council member.

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Washington, D.C.: What is your solution(s) to make the streets safe. I live in Brookland. The streets are not safe. I have been the victim of crime six times in the last seven years. Crimes I have suffered through include: mugged at gun point, attacked this past Halloween, and my car radio was stolen.

My suggestion is to bring back anti-loitering laws. These were used wrongly in the 1960s to arrest civil rights activists. Now they only protect open drug markets, like the one on Randolph St. between 10th and 9th Streets, NE. Please make ending crime a high priority.

Adrian Fenty: Sorry to hear about these incidents. Early in my administration you should expect to find out more information about our plans to enhance community policing. Some of this has already been reported on by The Post following interviews with Chief-designee Cathy Lanier. It is my intent to improve not only the visibility of officers in neighborhoods like Brookland but to make sure that we reduce these types of crimes.

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Washington, D.C.: First off, congratulations on becoming mayor -- we are very excited. It seems to me that retaining Dr. Gandhi as CFO was a very important first step -- he seems to be a constant and respected voice. Given this, and that we are in in high-profile D.C., how do we keep him? What are your thoughts?

Adrian Fenty: Thanks for your support. Within days of winning the primary on September 12th, I asked Dr. Gandhi to stay on as CFO for another five-year term. Dr. Gandhi accepted the offer and as soon as I take office on Jan. 2 I will make that a reality. I agree with you that Dr. Gandhi has been a leader in shoring the District's finances and you have my commitment that that will remain a huge priority.

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Washington, D.C.: Thank you for opposing the public financing of the baseball stadium. What policies will you implement to make sure that D.C. taxpayers do not have to pay anything more than the obscene $611 million giveaway to the millionaire owners of Major League Baseball?

Adrian Fenty: Because of the complexities of the deal itself, it will be important that, during my administration, I work collaboratively with the City Council, the team owners, local land-owners and the Chief Financial Officer if any financial problems arise. This is how I approached the recently-resolved "stadium parking" issue and I am optimistic that we will be able to avoid overruns in the future.

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NE: Mr. Mayor,

I am concerned about gentrification. I am deeply concerned and feel threatened by the wave of gentrification in the city. Already the city is planning on "relocating" me and my family and neighbors, so they can resell my apartment to developers. We are humans it is not fair to relocate us as if we are zoo animals. How do you plan to stop this?

Adrian Fenty: Every housing project is different but I believe that, as mayor, if I make sure that each renovation project guarantees 1-for-1 replacement of everyone that is currently in the development that we can go a long way towards preventing problems like yours and others.

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Washington, D.C.: I would like to know what you are planning on doing to reform the D.C. DMV system? I cannot understand how our D.C. government allows their employees to treat people in such a disrespectful and rude manner. I would like to see you do something to make it easier and less stressful to visit the DMV.

Adrian Fenty: Any employee who is found to have treated a D.C. taxpayer in an unprofessional way will be held accountable. While there have been improvements at DMV, we will make sure that we give our staff all the resources they need to succeed and follow-through to make sure there are tangible improvements in customer service and service delivery.

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Takoma, D.C.: Hi Adrian,

Did school superintendent Janey's presentation change your mind at all about how you want to approach working with the school board?

Adrian Fenty: I commend School Superintendent Janey for his state of DCPS. Additionally, he and I have communicated recently and we both share the belief that the school system needs to move forward quicker and with more efficiency and effectiveness. Over the next month, I will look at different ways that, as mayor, I can improve the effectiveness of the superintendent.

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Washington, D.C.: Will you be pushing the D.C. statehood issue?

Adrian Fenty: Yes. I have meetings with Members of Congress today in fact and plan to raise the issue then and consistently until we get our full franchise.

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Washington, D.C. : As the titular head of the D.C. Democratic Party and the mayor of the seat of government, how do you see your relationship with congressional Democrats, and, moreover, the party now that they are the party in power?

Adrian Fenty: It is my hope and belief that the city's agenda will be given a higher priority in Congress during the new session but that we will make unprecedented advances in voting rights.

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DC Trotter: What was your time for the SOME Turkey Trot? I walked and came in at 42:00.

Adrian Fenty: 20:45. Thanks for supporting such a great organization.

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Washington, D.C.: As a parent of an elementary school student at our local public school (Murch), I am concerned that parents don't see that the Junior and High schools are viable options for their children. Many parents in our community feel that the elementary schools are strong, but look to private and charter schools for post sixth grade education for their children. These are engaged parents and strong kids who are opting out of the upper levels, which then makes it harder for these schools to succeed and to seem like viable options. What do you plan to do to keep these parents in the system all the way through graduation?

Adrian Fenty: Beyond the general goal of making all of our schools excellent, I am also aware of the specific problem about the drop-off in the quality of education as students move from elementary to middle to high school. We are developing proposals now that, if submitted to the City Council, would begin to reverse this situation and make sure that every student in the entire city has an excellent school available to them through 12th grade.

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Ward 4: Mr. Mayor,

We'll miss you as our representative on the council. Who are you supporting to replace you, and why?

Adrian Fenty: Thanks for the support and I intend to be as engaged and service-delivery oriented as Mayor in Ward 4 and the other seven Wards as I have been as a Council member. Right after the election, I had a conversation with ANC Commissioner Muriel Bowser where I encouraged her to run for the position when it becomes vacant on Jan. 2. I think Commissioner Bowser brings the same tenacity for constituent services and community-focused leadership that can keep the great momentum we have in Ward 4 going. Commissioner Bowser's intelligence and aptitude will be a great asset to the City Council as they shape policy and budgets for District residents.

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Washington, D.C.: Mr. Mayor-elect,

What were some of the most important and intriguing items you discussed with the other big city mayors when you visited them last month, and what community policing methods do you feel contribute most to improving security in D.C.'s neighborhoods?

Adrian Fenty: As discussed, hire good people. Baltimore's Citistat program, which we will call CapStat. I am very encouraged by the school system reforms implemented by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in NY. San Francisco's affordable housing programs are worthy of emulation and Chicago has a good community-policing strategy, strategically using beat officers and technology.

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Washington, D.C.: Thank you for engaging your constituents using this format. Your mayoral appointees have created quite a buzz. Are you prepared to reveal any additional, recent hires or appointments to those of us who are tuned in to this discussion?

Adrian Fenty: Thanks for the support. Many of the cabinet-level directors have recently submitted their resignations. We are in the process of reviewing their agencies' progress, vision and accomplishments, and will make announcements within the next 2 - 3 weeks which current directors will stay and which ones we will replace.

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washingtonpost.com: Mayor-elect Fenty had to go. Thanks for your questions.

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Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.