How D.C. Mayor Fenty lost the black vote

How D.C. Mayor Fenty lost the black vote - and his job

By Paul Schwartzman and Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 18, 2010; 10:41 PM

On the last weekend before the Democratic primary, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty competed in a triathlon, cut the ribbon at a dog park in Cleveland Park, shook hands in Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle, and attended a premiere of a documentary about his controversial schools chancellor.

His chief rival, Vincent C. Gray, meanwhile, was dropping in at no fewer than three black churches, in the Mount Vernon, Shaw and Fort Lincoln neighborhoods.

The election wasn't lost or won in a weekend, but how the candidates spent that time says something about why Gray defeated a sitting mayor with a long list of accomplishments.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/18/AR2010091804286.html?hpid=topnews

Mayor Fenty had GOOD intentions but when you build Bike trails and Dog parks it seems like you are catering to people with too much money on their hands (i.e. most white people) and firing school teachers and city employees who are mostly black it will show at the voting booth.

A loss for DC.

 

When Fenti started laying off people who were simply taking up space. When he said that if you are going to be a teacher you are going to earn your pay. When he hired an Asian woman to wreck shop on under performing schools, and teachers. When he tired to institute some professionalism into the cabs, when he tried to revitalize parts of D.C. (notably H street and the Water front).

When he started to try to make D.C. a world class City (not just the Federal Government parts), he became the enemy of mediocrity and his days were numbered.

 

Mediocrity seems to be preferred today by many who do not want change. Progress will never move forward as long as these people (especially in the black community) who refuse to change stand in the way.

 

Fenty's problem is that there are a lot of older black voters who are heavily invested in the black/white paradigm. The country is moving towards a multiracial paradigm, but the older people in DC seem to think that only a carbon copy of Marion Barry is someone who should be mayor. They are not ready for someone who is postracial.

I disagree with the wholesale teacher firings. I think that could have been handled better.

 

From what my friends are tell me back home , genterfication is coming weather the older black residents like it or not. You can only hold back progressive thinking for so long. I heard even Berry Farms was being turned into something livable and being rebuilt into something profitable .

Well the thing about politics is that one day your down the next day your up. Regan, Bush the second, Clinton, and even Obama lost elections their first time out when going for political goals. Clinton lost the governorship once in Arkansas before winning it back. All those guys I mentioned went on to live in a certain house on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington D.C.

Not saying that's in store for Fintley, but he will move on to better things in life and maybe even become the mayor again.

 

Fentry peed off the wrong people in Chocolate City. He forgot the lesson of late Tip O'neil, All Politics is local...

 

he will be fine I hope. the problem is people dont like change and progress. I forgot who said it but the statement goes

where there is no struggle there is no progress.

 

Did you know he asked for Barack Obama to campaign for him? Guess Obama didn't get the memo.

 

naw I didnt know...did he ask ?

 

yup and Barack didn't respond. Just like that.

 

so basically the pres stated " talk to the hand biatch"