DMV Daily: Hatin' on Gray

Gray's not even mayor yet, but some want him to fail

“A Vile Caldron of Hatred.”

That’s the title of Courtland Milloy’s latest Washington Post column. But the piece isn’t an explanation of Milloy’s last column, in which he basically called Mayor Adrian Fenty an Uncle Tom and said Fenty was running D.C. like a plantation. Rather, Milloy is upset by the number of people who are already declaring incoming Mayor Vincent Gray to be a failure -- or who seem to be gleefully awaiting an inevitable Gray failure.

Milloy’s right about this. I was chatting yesterday with an acquaintance I had not seen since before the campaign began, who had been an enthusiastic Fenty supporter. In carefully chosen words, she was already writing Gray off as the second (third?) coming of Marion Barry. While I have been a fan of the Fenty Administration as well, I tried to point out some of Gray’s good points. They fell on deaf ears.

Gray will be mayor, and those who don’t like it are not helping those they claim to care about -- public school children, crime victims, local business owners -- by refusing to give him a chance. Even Fenty, who has the most reason to be angry about Gray’s election, has been cooperative and conciliatory. (If Fenty had spent the last four years acting the way he’s acted since Sept. 14, he would easily have won a second term.)

Gray is set to sit down with D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee (who Bob Herbert calls “cold-blooded” in his New York Times column) tomorrow to see if they have a future together. But while Rhee probably won’t formally resign during the meeting, it would be a surprise if she did not do so soon. Another resignation was a surprise -- the exit by e-mail of D.C. State Superintendent of Education Kerri Briggs last week.

As the Washington Post’s Bill Turque reports, Briggs quit with “barely 24 hours’ notice” and no public explanation. She told Turque that she told Fenty of her plans to depart in mid-August. Turque writes that Fenty, “perhaps reluctant to disclose a major resignation before the Sept. 14 primary, kept Briggs’s departure under wraps.”

The low-key Briggs never got the attention that Rhee did, but she had a big role in the District’s successful bid for federal Race to the Top grants and was responsible for grant oversight and standardized test administration. Her sudden exit is just another twist in the move toward the post-Rhee era.

At least they have a while to work it out. Gray got a 3 1/2-month transition period when he became de facto mayor-elect last week -- about a month more than incoming presidents get. But as the Post’s Mike DeBonis reports, future mayors could get even longer. The D.C. primary is likely to be moved back to June, which “raises the prospect of six-month lame ducks. In other words, it may become a regular occurrence for mayors and council members to serve one-eighth of their terms after the voters have decided that they no longer want them there.”

Elsewhere in the DMV:

*It was not all peace, love, and understanding as the Gray-led D.C. Council discussed tax breaks for Union Station. Though the item had been pulled from the agenda, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans was upset about the process -- and, as WTOP’s Mark Segraves documented on Twitter, used some colorful language to express his feelings.

*In her Washington Examiner column, Jonetta Rose Barras rips into incoming Council Chair Kwame Brown over campaign finances, warning that “if Brown is found guilty of misappropriating campaign funds, he likely will have to step down.”

*Washington City Paper reports that D.C. advisory neighborhood commissioners want to be exempted from Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser’s open government legislation, saying it would be too expensive. ANCs get very little funding and individual commissioners are unpaid -- though some candidates still buy signs and advertising. ANC races are among the city’s strangest. Many have just one candidate, and some none at all -- but those that are competitive often see ballot access challenges and bitter campaigning.

*In Maryland, Gov. Martin O’Malley’s re-election campaign is trying to link ex-Gov. Bob Ehrlich to the Tea Party movement. In an e-mail to supporters, O’Malley’s campaign manager said Republicans “have a huge cash advantage and they’re going to use it right here in Maryland.” He said “Republican groups” including the Tea Party “are outspending Democratic ones 10 to 1.”  While as TBD reports, the Republican Governors Association has launched a “full frontal attack” on O’Malley, Tea Party interest in Ehrlich has been tepid. The loosely organized group mostly backed Brian Murphy – who lost to Ehrlich by a 3 to 1 margin – in the Sept. 14 GOP gubernatorial primary.

*The Washington Post reports that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli “has tapped volunteer coordinators in 100 of Virginia’s 134 counties and cities and plans to have a coordinator in every jurisdiction in the state by the end of the year.” Cuccinelli’s likely rival for the 2013 GOP gubernatorial nomination, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, has also already started laying the groundwork.

*Maryland Green Party U.S. Senate nominee Natasha Pettigrew has died after being hit by an SUV while riding a bicycle early Sunday. The 30-year-old had taken a leave from law school to challenge Sen. Barbara Mikulski. Party co-chair Brian Bittner said, “As a party, we have never experienced a sudden loss like this. We all looked forward to working with Natasha for years to come.” The party will consider naming a replacement candidate.

Follow P.J. Orvetti on Twitter at @PJOinDC

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