Friday, September 24, 2010
Rebuilding Place: Primary Focus
Many people held strong feelings about the mayoral primary, and I know that I've had conversations with, and gotten emails from people who were not happy with the result. Among my group of friends I know people with similar goals and ideas who voted for different candidates. So I thought I'd share this piece from Richard Layman where he looks at a couple of things going on in the primary, and exactly where it leads us.
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17 comments:
Is it the role of government to pursue either redistributive justice or bike lanes? Or is the role of government something that should be smaller, more neat and concise, something that supports liberty without hindering it. Fenty v. Gray was like Coke vs. Pepsi. Neither is really good for you, and there’s not much difference. The passion on both sides seems absurd. We are not in a state of class or race warfare; we seem to simply be debating nuances of the same theme.
DC is a young democracy, and as for most adolescents, neither Coke nor Pepsi are good things. We should be drinking water (as in Wells for Mayor ).
One, Tommy Wells will never be mayor.
Two, if there was one thing that's clear from this primary, it's that Courtland Milloy has about as much business writing for a major newspaper as Kathy Henderson does.
I agree with Jamie on both issues. Courtland's piece was I won't even go there.
I think it's wonderful that an ex- DC resident like Courtland Milloy who abandoned the city--defunding the government in the process by taking his income tax money out to Maryland--is so concerned about DC politics.
"I'm moving to a gated community and shipping my money out-of-state. Make sure you take care of the poor and needy I leave behind!"
This guy is a role-model for fucking hypocritical scumbags everywhere.
Some people seem genuinely fightened by Grey as mayor. I'm not frightened, but after his street car stunt I don't know why anyone along the corridor would support him - unless you don't support the streetcar. Can anyone give me a reason to get excited about this guy.
you can disagree with Gray and not wind up on an enemies list - it's going to make a huge difference having an adult as Mayor.
Gray does seem better able to deal with Councilmembers in a civil manner.
Jamie: No one predicted Mayor Williams, either.
I think we need to step, not just outside the box, but beyond it.
I'm less concerned about Gray as mayor as I am with the most vociferous of his supporters - which I generally feel are more correctly described as Fenty-detractors.
The only issues I have with Gray is that his "vision" seems about as deep as a puddle. It's a liberal mirror-image of the latest Republican "Pledge to America" that has all the right buzz-words to stoke up popular support, but lacks any sort of actual detail.
I wasn't here long enough to see whether Fenty has been successful or has just "ridden coattails" but I like what I've seen in the city in the way of progress. The loudest condemnations of Fenty in support of Gray seem to be in favor of regression at the expense of propping up chronic unemployment and underachievement in areas that do geniuinely need help.
Having moved into Trinidad and seen that Ward 5 has changed SIGNIFICANTLY in the past few years with intelligence investment in infrastructure and transportation, I see private and commercial interests moving in to fill out the progress, as it were. The conclusion I would draw is that once the property values raised to a point where people wanting to move here might have to look elsewhere (like those of us that moved here in the first place) then that same investment could be made across the river to encourage similar progress.
It seems to me that there is a combination of forces working agaisnt this. There is the concern that as real progress is made than "historic" residents will be "forced" out. Firstly - that's just the breaks. No one forces you to live in one place or another - but then again no one guarantees you can live in a certain place if you can't afford it. So there is real resentment in an almost "tea partier" sense of nativism that there are people that look different coming in and changing the place and "forcing" those who "deserve" to be here out, i.e., gentrification.
The irony is the majority of the "well-to-do" "myopic little twits" that Courtland Milloy and his ilk rail against aren't exactly Alex P. Keatons who worship Ronald Reagan. Most are seriously [P]rogressive liberals who are more than willing to shell out tax dollars to support the needy. The problem is they rightly view this as a stopgap - a bridge to improvement. Many on the recieving end of those tax dollars have grown up viewing it expectantly as a entitlement in itself. They are also impatient (not that growing up in poverty wouldn't justify impatience) and that leads to stalled efforts at progress and improvement that require complicated mixes of economic policies that do not produce immediate results for those "most" in need.
We may indeed see a regression - but I predict if there is one it will be only partial. For the most part, areas like this one have already passed the hump as it were - you can't force people out that have made serious personal investments and established homes.
I'm less concerned about Gray as mayor as I am with the most vociferous of his supporters - which I generally feel are more correctly described as Fenty-detractors.
The only issues I have with Gray is that his "vision" seems about as deep as a puddle. It's a liberal mirror-image of the latest Republican "Pledge to America" that has all the right buzz-words to stoke up popular support, but lacks any sort of actual detail.
I wasn't here long enough to see whether Fenty has been successful or has just "ridden coattails" but I like what I've seen in the city in the way of progress. The loudest condemnations of Fenty in support of Gray seem to be in favor of regression at the expense of propping up chronic unemployment and underachievement in areas that do geniuinely need help.
Having moved into Trinidad and seen that Ward 5 has changed SIGNIFICANTLY in the past few years with intelligence investment in infrastructure and transportation, I see private and commercial interests moving in to fill out the progress, as it were. The conclusion I would draw is that once the property values raised to a point where people wanting to move here might have to look elsewhere (like those of us that moved here in the first place) then that same investment could be made across the river to encourage similar progress.
It seems to me that there is a combination of forces working agaisnt this. There is the concern that as real progress is made than "historic" residents will be "forced" out. Firstly - that's just the breaks. No one forces you to live in one place or another - but then again no one guarantees you can live in a certain place if you can't afford it. So there is real resentment in an almost "tea partier" sense of nativism that there are people that look different coming in and changing the place and "forcing" those who "deserve" to be here out, i.e., gentrification.
The irony is the majority of the "well-to-do" "myopic little twits" that Courtland Milloy and his ilk rail against aren't exactly Alex P. Keatons who worship Ronald Reagan. Most are seriously [P]rogressive liberals who are more than willing to shell out tax dollars to support the needy. The problem is they rightly view this as a stopgap - a bridge to improvement. Many on the recieving end of those tax dollars have grown up viewing it expectantly as a entitlement in itself. They are also impatient (not that growing up in poverty wouldn't justify impatience) and that leads to stalled efforts at progress and improvement that require complicated mixes of economic policies that do not produce immediate results for those "most" in need.
We may indeed see a regression - but I predict if there is one it will be only partial. For the most part, areas like this one have already passed the hump as it were - you can't force people out that have made serious personal investments and established homes.
I'm just afraid Gray will be too focused on trying to please his supporters, that he will be ineffective. Fenty was there and made the tough decisions (i.e supporting Rhee in the teacher firings) that were needed for change.
The election was certainly about race. Blacks were disappointed with Fenty when he did appoint enough blacks in key positions period. That issue, my friends, is racial. Now, lets see what racial makeup of Gray's team will be.
I do agree Gray will be better working with the council. Hopefully he will share baseball tickets, provide vacation plans, and sing Kum Ba Yah with them. I just hope he makes the tough decisions to move our city forward by being tough of crime; holding city workers accountable and improving our quality of lifes. By that I don't mean handing out money to able-bodied citizens who are able to work but don't (picture those hanging out daily on H st Benning Rd).
annon 6:27
I think you're painting with too broad of brush. I don't think "blacks" really saw that as an issue most people don't know who the department heads are. I think we need to pause and stop the race baiting. Fenty like Williams before him, solicited the best people he could. Yes, a set of people had an issue, but please don't attribute that to "blacks" It's just not fair, or accurate.
Robby, I don't think we're "race baiting". We're trying to understand why, when all races agree (based on polls) that Fenty did a good job and is moving the city in the right direction that the election results were sharply divided among racial lines. Let's not try to pretend it doesn't exist.
I'm not at comparing the two elections, but just look at the primary election between Clinton and Obama. I think it was 90% of blacks voted for Obama. That's very convencing, especially given that both candidates were pretty equal on most positions. It was race that was the factor.
It's hard for many of us whites to understand that. We grew up learing about racism and the harm that our race inflicted on the blacks. We were taught (at least I was) to discriminate and treat everyone equally regardless of race. But we then see these disparant results showing splits amongst racial lines and can't understand why. I also overhear black co-workers speak of Fenty's lack of "inclusiveness: in his administration. Just trying to understand.
The best I can say is it's over. Move on. I love that DC makes the majority culture have a taste of life for all of us in the majority of the population.
I hope you rest well, and don't fret, the rest of the country isn't like DC. The non-white vote in other places doens't matter as much so you're safe.
I mean it's not like incumbents have been losing or something.
And yes, just like Catholics did for Kennedy, blacks voted for Obama. For you not understand that... well lets just say we can all pretend to live in utopia. And it's easier if you are in the power majority to sing kumbaya with Pollyanna pick-tails.
Fenty Screwed the pooch, in several ways, and only one of them was acting as if the will and concerns black voters didn't matter. When he lost the Ward 4 straw poll anyone with a brian knew it was over for him.
But for those of you that feel that the Gray nomination was an assault to you for being white - the end of all progress and a return to the "dark" days of DC governance, well you're prob wrong. Gray modernized the Council, I can't seem him going back to rotary phones, and bribes.
People voted for a wide array of reasons, I voted for Fenty because after years of toil he actually got me meter's in cabs. There were other reasons but that tipped the scales.
So I guess maybe I'm an uncle tom, oh wait I read that book and he wasn't really a turn coat.
But then, I didn't think meters were a white black issue. I also didn't see Fenty v Gray as a white black choice. Hell Fenty's bi-racial but darker than Gray.
But from reading these comments I see that my stab at being deliberative and open minded is silenced by the cacophony gasps out there such as "It's hard for many of us whites to understand ..."
I'm not really sure what to say, besides it's not yours to understand. Do you know how many blacks can't understand how the white majority could nominate bigots (Can you say Tea Party).
How could the country elect a president that didn't see that the dragging of black man to death was a hate crime, or that vicious murder of a gay may was either.
We did so, and twice. And no W never won the Black vote, and that was fine by most Americans (guess that means you white people that can't understand).
I hope he call pull together the One City Theme, because from some of things I've been hearing and reading online. It seems like upper NW and the hill are ready to succeed from the district.
This is just sad. I remember why I stopped reading this blog, it really makes distrustful. I would like to think were were all equal, but these comments remind me that to many whites, blacks are viewed as obstacles to progress. That's really messed up. Once again Frozen tropics makes me have second thoughts about living in the H Street region. Perhaps we should go back to redlining, at least there we knew our place.
I am sorry that you whites that don't understand how black people didn't vote for an aloof black (bi-racial) democratic candidate.
You people make me glad that I probally wont have children who would want to rear children in this environment.
Its toxic and just plain abysmal.
Robby, 12:33 is a good post. But don't despair (12:41).
If I could be presumptive enough to speak for other white folks in the area, the anger aimed at Fenty (and against us, apparently) took a lot of us off-guard (at least until this summer), and the arguments used against him just seemed more emotional than logical (yes, just like Tea Party rhetoric. BTW, Tea Party members among "gentrifiers" = 0).
More to the point, HELL YES x MILLION we see people like Courtland Milloy and Marion Barry and some black ministers as obstacles to progress.
Don't pretend for a second that Barry's calling Rhee racist time and time and time again did not have a profound impact on this election. Do YOU think she is a racist?
I know what you mean by Fenty not listening to certain constituents. I was at a meeting on 6th St. last year re a spike in crime in the Near Northeast area. Some of the long-term residents were railing against Chief Lanier, saying "things were so much better under Ramsey." The Mayor was physically perturbed, saying "you're wrong" and he proceeded to cite the strong record of Commander Kamperin and the remarkable drop in crime statistics in the area (that continues). Not the most sensitive, politic answer, but the Mayor did have facts on his side.
I see that as a microcosm of what happened to Mayor Fenty. I agree that we need to pause and stop the race baiting.
Re-read my post and to avoid any misunderstanding, I just want to clarify that I mean perceptions of an aloof government, some terrible opportunistic dinosaur leaders, and Fenty's own failings as a politician were responsible for his downfall.
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