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Good morning, This is a very long edition. Lots of post-election coverage. Let's get to it.
DCGovClips blurb:
Most people who work with DC government need to know the media buzz early. Most aggregates come out after 9 a.m. I think people need a news aggregate that can be read on a Blackberry or iPhone BEFORE you get to the office. So you can hit the ground running and know what's being said about DC government / City Council and other city-related items. Unlike Loose Lips and DeBonis, this includes no commentary... Just clips (and links to DeBonis and Loose Lips).
I'll send this in two ways by email: I'll embed the clips in the body of the email so you don't have to open any attachments. I'll also send it as an attachment.
Remember:
Blog (clips online): http://dcgovclips.blogspot.com/
Twitter: DCGovClips
Facebook: DC Government Media Clips
Best, Karyn-Siobhan Robinson a/k/a DC Government Clips
DC Government/Council media clips for Wednesday, November 3, 2010.
Missed yesterday? http://dcgovclips.blogspot.com/2010/11/dc-governmentcouncil-media-clips-for_02.html
District of Columbia Races & Results - Washington Post
For Gray, a methodical path to the mayor's office - Washington Post
Now it's Gray's turn to face 'hard choices' - The Washington Times
Dicey dollars - Washington Post
Kwame R. Brown poised to lead D.C. Council - Washington Post
D.C. councilman must submit papers about 'Team Thomas' nonprofit - Washington Post
Too early to tell if GOP-controlled House will meddle with D.C. affairs, Norton says - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
Gains for anti-spending GOP mean trouble for a region dominated by federal dollars - Washington Post
Creating checks and balances in D.C. - Examiner
Gray wins, other races too close to call - Examiner
Board of Elections struggles with reporting again - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
D.C. tax amnesty garners $20.8M - Washington Business Journal
Fenty write-in supporters make a statement - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
Save DC Now told to quit - Washington Business Journal
You Can Love The Idea, But The Location Stinks - DCist.com
Polls open smoothly in District - D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
D.C. exodus to charters among highest in U.S. - Examiner
So when exactly was Rhee's last day? - D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post blog)
Rhee remains coy about her next move - Examiner
Washington Times sold - Politico
District of Columbia Races & Results
Washington Post
Note from Karyn-Siobhan Robinson a/k/a DC Government Clips: includes stats and numbers.
For Gray, a methodical path to the mayor's office
By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207069.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207069.html
Tuesday, November 2, 2010; 11:23 PM
Vincent C. Gray, who defeated Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in the Democratic primary by promising to be a peacemaker in District government, easily won election Tuesday by overcoming token opposition and a write-in campaign by some Fenty supporters.
The 67-year-old D.C. Council chairman's primary victory over Fenty was watched closely for its implications on post-racial politics, education reform and the changing demographics and culture of urban centers.
Such pressures prompted Gray to hold nine town-hall-style meetings, treading a difficult line as candidate, presumptive mayor-elect and soother while pledging to bridge the city's racial, class and geographic differences.
In a repeat of the primary, D.C. election officials struggled to get results out Tuesday night. The first update was not released until after 10 p.m. At 10:45, the results of fewer than 24,000 votes had been released, and Gray had 78 percent of them. Nearly 20 percent of votes were cast for a write-in candidate, although election officials did not release the names written in by voters. Assuming Fenty got the majority of those votes, the write-in campaign appeared to make inroads in predominantly white Ward 3 and gentrifying pockets of the city where voters said they were writing in the mayor out of protest and in support of school reform.
Gray's triumphant rise as the District's seventh mayor appears swift and inadvertent. In six years, he went from running the nonprofit Covenant House to mayor of the nation's capital. But his friends, advisers and one-time opponents describe him as a man who has been at the right place at the right time and always prepared to take advantage of every opportunity.
In the primary, Fenty's $5 million campaign coffers scared away most competitors. Outmatched by an army of Fenty paid workers, Gray cobbled together support from labor unions and business interests to pull off what some thought impossible a year ago.
Gray also abandoned door-to-door knocking, the campaign tool that became the stuff of politicking lore because of Fenty's holey-soled shoes in 2006. Instead, Gray met voters in their living rooms and back yards and talked to them about balancing the budget, training residents for jobs and expanding public education.
"In many ways, his campaigning style is a throwback," said former Ward 7 council member Kevin P. Chavous, unseated by Gray in 2004 in his first public-office win. "The new consultant tells you to touch as many people as possible. He touches less people, but the conversations are probably more meaningful. . . . That approach has worked for him."
'One step at a time'
A decade ago, Gray was working with low-income residents in Lincoln Heights when Chavous confronted him on the street about a rumor. "Are you running against me?" asked Chavous, who was in his second term and in a vulnerable position since waging an unsuccessful 1998 run for mayor.
"I've thought about it, Kevin," Gray told him as Fenty, Chavous's aide at the time, looked on.
Fenty reflected on the conversation as an example of Gray's methodical and political timing. "Always looking toward the political future but not rushing," Fenty told a room of Democrats on Sept. 15, the day after Gray defeated him. "Taking it one step at a time."
In an interview Tuesday outside a voting precinct in Ward 3, Gray described himself as more politically thoughtful than politically shrewd. Each time he ran for office - Ward 7 council member, chairman and mayor - he talked to people for hours and mulled strategies for months.
After that encounter with Chavous, Gray spent the next few years building a political résumé. His early career was focused as an advocate for the mentally disabled, but Gray was tapped in the 1990s by then-Mayor Sharon Pratt to head up the city's Department of Human Services. After that, he returned to the nonprofit world with Covenant House.
In 2003, Gray decided to run for president of the Ward 7 Democrats in what turned out to be the first of a string of back-to-back victories. Vince Spaulding, former president of the Hillcrest Community Civic Association in Ward 7, recalled that Gray was an energetic newcomer when he took the helm of the local Democratic committee.
"He's a good organizer," Spaulding said. "He held regular meetings, publicized the meetings. He gave it [Ward 7 Democrats] a real sense of direction."
Gray elevated the status of the Ward 7 Democrats, and in turn, elevated himself, community leaders said.
By 2004, he was ready for Chavous.
Concerned about appearances
Gray, known for his diplomacy and etiquette, asked Chavous to meet him for breakfast before he announced publicly that he would, in fact, run against the incumbent, making reality out of the four-year-old rumor.
"I think you've outgrown this," Gray told Chavous, whose aspiration to be mayor, constitutents said, came at the expense of their concerns.
Chavous, a national advocate for school choice, can laugh now. "I thought it was a classy move. He stroked my ego big time, and then he ran against me," Chavous said.
In that contest, Gray portrayed Chavous as an incumbent who had lost touch. "He caught me when I was disengaged," Chavous said.
Gray wasn't on the council a year before rumblings began about who would be running for mayor. Fenty, then the Ward 4 council member, and Linda W. Cropp, then council chairman, emerged from a crowded field.
Cropp had to resign her seat to run, opening an opportunity. Then-Ward 3 council member Kathy Patterson, as a three-term incumbent with a lengthy legislative record, was poised to replace her. But Patterson's incumbency and championing of some issues had racked up influential enemies willing to back a challenger.
Enter Gray.
The presumptive mayor-elect said the decision to run could have cast him in the same light as Chavous, a politician looking for a higher office. He said he spent three or four months "studying the idea" and asking the opinions of community leaders. "I said, 'I'd rather stay right where I am than be looked at as someone who is opportunistic,' " Gray said Tuesday.
With Ward 7 stakeholders on board, Gray was ready for Patterson.
Patterson, who is white and grew up in California, said in an e-mail that her 12 years on the council were no match for Gray's "compelling personal story."
"It always started with, 'I'm a native Washingtonian,' " Patterson recalled.
Pollster and political consultant Ron Lester said the personal narrative reflected a base of support. Although to a majority of white residents and newcomers Gray was the lesser-known candidate, he was well-known to longtime black residents who remembered the standout Dunbar High School graduate. "He had a feel for the community based on a 50-year history," Lester said.
Adjusting to run
Gray, who is black, applied many of the same tactics from his successful 2006 campaign for chairman to this year's mayoral primary. Although the outcome was slightly different, Gray again won more white voters than his opponent did black voters, a good, if not always guaranteed, path to victory in a majority-black city.
After weeks of apparent indecision, Gray decided to challenge Fenty: He recast the issue of education and countered Fenty's hard-charging style with a more conciliatory, deliberative approach. Gray said Fenty needed an opponent, win or lose. "If you had asked me the question in November 2009, am I running? My most optimistic answer was, 'No, but I am going to consider it,' " Gray said. "I basically pushed all my chips into the table and said, 'I'm in.' "
Being in meant making adjustments, according to friends and advisers who say Gray recognized the challenge of running against Fenty. Although reluctant, Gray eventually sported a slightly different haircut, new suits and an updated pair of eyeglasses. He agreed to early attack ads against Fenty.
Gray also asked some longtime friends to take a back seat as he hired professionals, such as campaign consultant Mo Elleithee, to handle day-to-day operations. "It was a good mix of old and new," Elleithee said.
Avram Fechter, who worked as Gray's Ward 3 campaign coordinator in 2006, said it's a reflection of how Gray works. "He doesn't have a kitchen cabinet," Fechter said. "He has a kitchen army."
And then, he attacks.
"He's been lucky," Chavous said. "He can be calculating."
Now it's Gray's turn to face 'hard choices'
Council chief D.C. mayor-elect
The Washington Times
10:46 p.m., Tuesday, November 2, 2010
D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said for months that he made "hard choices" for the city during "hard times." Now it's Vincent C. Gray's turn.
Voter turnout on Tuesday hardly matched the high numbers during the 2008 Obama presidential run, when 62.53 percent of Washington's registered voters cast ballots. But with 14 percent of the ballot counted Mr. Gray had captured 96 percent of the vote against only minor-party opposition in the overwhelmingly Democratic city to claim victory as the city's mayor-elect.
Mr. Gray now has to choose among raising taxes, cutting spending and paying for programs that he touted as D.C. Council chairman on the campaign trail, including special education reform.
In many respects, Mr. Gray's transition is challenging but not daunting, supporters said, because voters likely returned six of his council colleagues to City Hall and one of them, Kwame Brown, will replace him as chairman in January. D.C. congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's easy victory over Republican Missy Reilly Smith helps, too.
Also, Mr. Gray's transition team includes Alice Rivlin, the former Congressional Budget Office director who later headed up the D.C. Control Board, and Anthony A. Williams, the former two-term mayor who served as chief financial officer during Marion Barry's last mayoral term.
There's no shortage of financial problems on the table, including overspent budgets, double-digit unemployment rates, a $175 million budget deficit and a burgeoning social-services safety net. And the dust still lingers from last spring's budget skirmishes, which pitted Mr. Fenty and some lawmakers who wanted to raise taxes and fees against Mr. Gray and a majority of lawmakers who subsequently pushed most of them off the table.
How Mr. Gray handles closing that $175 million budget hole, which is the result of declines in sales- and income-tax collections, and revenue shortfalls projected in the near future is his first leadership test.
"Closing the budget deficit will be a real test of his leadership and set the tone for the rest of his administration," said A. Scott Bolden, a prominent defense attorney and former chairman of the D.C. Democratic State Committee. "Chairman Gray is going to learn quickly what it means to be Mayor Gray."
Raising taxes "is not sound fiscal policy" in this economy, Mr. Bolden said.
"In the short term, residents will stay put. But in the long term, they will consider moving to Maryland and Virginia. There is tremendous bloat in personnel, and he needs to make cuts in a lean, efficient and effective way without slashing and burning," he said.
Union leaders and other Gray supporters echoed many of Mr. Bolden's comments, saying tackling the deficit is Mr. Gray's urgent priority, but they also said that continuing education reform, creating jobs and improving civic engagement are key priorities of voters.
For his part, Mr. Fenty instituted a hiring freeze and told agencies to trim their budgets. But unions, including the Washington Teachers Union, the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Government Employees, played substantial roles in the successful Gray campaign and they have expectations.
The head of the teachers union cited Mr. Gray's proposal to mainstream special-needs students in D.C. Public Schools, instead of paying tuition, boarding and transportation costs for out-of-state programs.
"I support the inclusion model," said George Parker, head of the teachers union. "But you've got to put resources and expert teachers in the classrooms. We need those kinds of support services. The students need wraparound services. We need to spend the money."
The Fenty administration spent down the city's savings to cover overspending for schools and other programs, and that hole needs to be filled immediately, supporters said.
Mr. Gray and the city administrator shouldn't take a piecemeal approach, said Stan Jackson, who served three D.C. mayors and as interim president of the University of the District of Columbia.
"The earliest and biggest challenge is devising a forensic analysis of the finances," said Mr. Jackson. "What are the true resource allocations and how are those allocations spent. ... On the jobs front, are we integrating bricks and mortar with human capital? ... On economic development, do we understand the importance of being civically engaged?"
Mr. Gray campaigned on a theme of "One City," and he urged civic leaders at a breakfast on Saturday to help him the bridge the real and perceptive divides in voters' minds.
"Open communications and trust between the city officials and civic leaders. That's what Vincent Gray said," noted Robert Brannum, president of the D.C. Federation of Civic Associations.
A longtime critic of former Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, Mr. Brannum also said the Gray administration must "start protecting jobs for people who live in the District" and that there is no shortage of stakeholders who would willingly be a part of his "kitchen Cabinet brain trust."
Mr. Jackson cautions that Mr. Gray should act with deliberate speed to align fiscal policy with the programs that mayor-elect laid out during the campaign.
He also said city leaders must be mindful that the control board, which Congress created too oversee District government because of financial mismanagement, is merely dormant - not dead.
"There is no margin for error," Mr. Jackson said.
Dicey dollars
Editorial
Washington Post
Wednesday, November 3, 2010; A16
AS COMMENDABLE as it is that Vincent C. Gray (D) wants to save taxpayers the cost of his transition into the mayor's office, plans to let private donors pay are problematic. Legitimate, reasonable costs of changing governments should be borne by government to avoid even the appearance of private parties seeking to buy influence with a new administration. Mr. Gray should rethink his plan or, at the very least, limit donations to conform to those that are allowed for political contributions.
Mr. Gray said he doesn't want to add to the $175 million shortfall in the current District budget. In 2006, when Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) took over from outgoing Mayor Anthony A. Williams, $250,000 in transition costs was allocated by the D.C. Council, and Mr. Fenty ended up spending $150,000. Mr. Gray's campaign, by contrast, has established a nonprofit group to collect donations up to $25,000 per donor with the promise that the names would be made public on a regular basis. This presumably would be in addition to funds that are traditionally raised to pay for inaugural activities.
It's not unheard of for incoming officials to use excess campaign or private dollars to help pay for transitions, but Mr. Gray's plans, a first for the District, appear to be more extensive. Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), for example, was given a public budget of $353,600 but shaved costs (an estimated $80,000) by paying employee salaries out of campaign funds and allowing a moving company to donate the costs of his family's move into the Executive Mansion. President Obama set up a transition project but limited donations to $5,000 and prohibited contributions from corporations, labor unions, lobbyists and political action groups.
D.C. law limits campaign contributions from individuals, corporations and labor unions to $2,000. Since lawmakers clearly wanted to guard against undue influence from those with deep pockets, it would seem prudent to apply the same limits to any money raised for transition costs. It's no insult to Mr. Gray's integrity to suggest that the D.C. Council memorialize the rules so that everyone - including future executives - understands what is allowable.
We also have to wonder whether it's possible to rein in the costs associated with changing governments. How exactly did Mr. Fenty spend $150,000? We've asked but haven't gotten any answers. Mr. Gray has not said how much money he thinks he will need. Maryland, the District's larger neighbor to the north, seems to get by on less. A spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said there is a $50,000 appropriation in the budget during years in which there could be a change in control. If the incumbent is reelected, the funds revert to the state's General Fund. Costs of a new governor moving into Government House appear to be extra, but that's not an issue in the District, which lacks a mayoral mansion.
Kwame R. Brown poised to lead D.C. Council
By Mike DeBonis
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207177.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207177.html
Tuesday, November 2, 2010; 11:23 PM
District residents appeared to promote Democrat Kwame R. Brown to lead a D.C. Council that will look much the same as the one they've come to know in recent years.
Only Vincent C. Gray (D), who will leave the chairmanship to assume the mayoralty, will not return for the new council term. Opinion polls taken in the run-up to the September primaries indicated wide approval for the council's work - unusual for a legislative body, pollsters said - and the ballots counted Tuesday reinforced that sentiment.
The council's previous term has been by any measure productive, passing measures legalizing same-sex marriage, creating a landmark tax on disposable bags and mandating sweeping changes to city elections. The key sponsors of those well-publicized measures each ran and won reelection Tuesday.
The son of a longtime local political operative, Brown has repeatedly proven himself to be in the top echelon of city campaigners. He becomes council chairman six years after winning election to an at-large council seat by defeating 14-year incumbent Harold Brazil.
In his run for the city's top legislative post, he fended off a primary challenge from former Ward 5 council member Vincent B. Orange Sr., who sought to capitalize on revelations concerning Brown's personal finances. But Brown, 40, easily dispatched Orange in the primary, winning better than 55 percent of the vote.
Brown's sole general election opponent was Statehood Green candidate Ann C. Wilcox, who won less than 10 percent of early-reporting precincts
For the past four years, Brown has chaired the council's powerful Economic Development Committee, where he has often clashed with mayoral development officials but has been an effective advocate for job creation and training. But he now faces new leadership challenges in his new role. He will be immediately faced with the task of reorganizing the council's operations - choosing whether, like Gray, he'd prefer to keep tight reins on education oversight or delegate to a committee.
Gray, 67, has been widely credited with deftly managing his colleagues' political and policy imperatives, particularly during the budget process. Whether to Brown's detriment or his advantage, Gray as mayor will enjoy close relations with the council members he once led. That includes Brown, who counts Gray as a friend and a neighbor in Ward 7's Hillcrest community. The two staged a joint victory celebration Tuesday at a Northeast night club.
"Vince and I have a mutual respect," he said in an interview Tuesday. "There are going to be times we disagree. We are going to hold the executive [branch] accountable, no doubt about it."
The most pressing concern is the fiscal state of the city, which has yet to recover from the economic downturn dating to 2008. Gray has said publicly that a budget gap as large as $400 million will need to be closed by the time the next fiscal year starts in October.
Brown emphasized that the city's financial health is his paramount concern. "You have to have a stable government that's fiscally responsible," he said. "You have to have your financial house in order."
Brown's ascension to the chairmanship also opens his at-large council seat. An elections official said Monday that a special election would likely be in early May.
Orange is now openly seeking the seat. Jacque Patterson, a Ward 8 community leader, and Sekou Biddle, the Ward 4 representative to the State Board of Education, have also announced they will explore runs, and Ward 5 council member Harry Thomas Jr. is said to be considering a bid.
Attorney general vote
According to early results, D.C. residents were voting to elect the city's attorney general - a job that has been filled by mayoral appointment - likely adding a new citywide office to ballots for the first time since home rule.
The law would go into effect after a congressional review period expected to expire in mid-January; observers consider it unlikely that Congress would intervene. Under the proposed law, the first elected attorney general would not serve until January 2015.
"People in this town are hungry for more democracy," said Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, a policy nonprofit group that has studied the issue.
Critics of the measure fear that an elected office will not attract the sharp legal minds that have often held the post, known as corporation counsel until 2004. The current attorney general, Peter Nickles, came to the office after a distinguished litigation career. A close family friend of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's, he served as the administration's indispensable man on controversial issues and clashed often with council members over mayoral prerogatives - leading, some contended, to the ballot measure.
Nickles has warned that the move to an elected top lawman would not only unduly politicize the office but also require the mayor to hire a new corps of lawyers to represent mayoral interests, thus increasing administrative costs. Bill proponents, backed by city financial officials, did not share that assessment.
Smith, a former deputy attorney general under Mayor Anthony A. Williams, said he thought the change would "not . . . have a great impact administratively."
Politically, the issue is more complex. An elected attorney general would have a platform to rival the mayor and council chairman, creating a competing base of political power in the city government.
Other races
Republicans, relegated to the sidelines in city politics, focused their efforts on the four ward races. They appear to have come closest to victory in Ward 3, the city's most affluent and richest in registered Republican voters, according to an early count.
There, Republican David Hedgepeth targeted incumbent Democrat Mary M. Cheh for her support of Gray in a ward where better than 80 percent of primary voters preferred Fenty.
In 2006, a Republican won 27 percent of the vote against Cheh; this year, Hedgepeth improved on that showing, but apparently not enough to dispatch Cheh, a law professor.
According to early results, Democrat Jim Graham appeared to outpolled Republican Marc Morgan in Ward 1 and Nancy Shia of the Statehood Green Party, winning a fourth term. In Ward 5, Thomas was fending off a strong challenge from Republican Timothy Day, who had made an issue of Thomas's private fundraising in recent weeks. An independent, Kathy Henderson, also appeared on the ballot.
In Ward 6, incumbent Tommy Wells (D) appeared to win over Republican Jim DeMartino. In the at-large race, independent David A. Catania was heading to a fourth full term. Phil Mendelson, a Democrat, was expected to do the same. A Statehood Green candidate, David Schwartzman, and an independent, Richard Urban, were also on the ballot.
In nonpartisan ward-based races for the State Board of Education, Ward 1 incumbent Dotti Love Wade faced a strong challenge from Patrick Mara, a consultant and former D.C. Council candidate, though early returns were inconclusive. In Ward 6, Monica Warren-Jones, running with Wells's support, outpolled Melissa Rohan in another contested race. Incumbents Mark Jones, of Ward 5, and Laura McGiffert Slover, of Ward 3, both won second terms.
Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton cruised to an 11th term as the District's congressional delegate. With the expected Republican gains Tuesday, she will be faced with fending off renewed attempts to intervene in city affairs.
D.C. councilman must submit papers about 'Team Thomas' nonprofit
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110204977.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110204977.html
Tuesday, November 2, 2010; 5:14 PM
A D.C. Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that council member Harry Thomas Jr. has three weeks to comply with a subpoena from Attorney General Peter Nickles for documents related to a charitable organization that has so far operated largely out of public view.
In his ruling, Judge Bruce D. Beaudin raised concerns about both Thomas's efforts to resist the subpoena and Nickles's push to pursue it hours before Tuesday's election.
After the court was forced into the increasingly nasty power struggle between Nickles and Thomas (D-Ward 5), Beaudin rebuffed a request by city attorneys that the first-term council member immediately turn over the information related to Team Thomas, established in 2000 to provide grants to youths and community-based organizations in Northeast Washington.
Beaudin, who questioned whether Nickles's investigation was politically motivated, affirmed that the attorney general's office has the right to investigate how the organization was constituted but gave Thomas until Nov. 23 to turn over the information.
"I just want to keep it out of the political arena," Beaudin said. "But I think it should be looked at."
Thomas's attorney, Frederick D. Cooke, said after the hearing that the information requested may be released as soon as the end of the week. Thomas was widely expected to win reelection to his ward seat Tuesday. But the questions about Team Thomas come amid signs that the council member, a close ally of presumptive mayor Vincent C. Gray (D), could be gearing up to run in a special election this spring for the at-large council seat being vacated by Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large) when he becomes council chair.
Thomas's nonprofit group isn't registered with the Internal Revenue Service or in good standing with city regulators, causing some of Thomas's critics to question who was funding it and how the money had been distributed. But Nickles's decision to launch an investigation has reopened long-standing divisions between his office and the council, prompting allegations that the attorney general was politicizing his office to try to harm one of his chief critics.
After Thomas failed to meet a deadline Nickles set for the voluntarily release of the information, a subpoena was issued giving the council member until Friday to hand over information about Team Thomas's donations, the salaries of its employees and its expenses. When Thomas failed to comply, Nickles asked the court Monday for "immediate enforcement" of the subpoena.
According to documents unearthed by Thomas's GOP opponent, Tim Day, the council member has used his official stationery to promote fundraising groups for the organization, which he billed on his Web site as a "non-profit."
Last year, however, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs revoked Team Thomas's license. And because Team Thomas is not registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3), there has been no public accounting of its finances.
"This is our job, making sure there are not fake nonprofits," Bennett Rushkoff, chief of the Public Advocacy Section for the attorney general's office, told Beaudin at the hearing. He also warned that Thomas's efforts to resist the subpoena could embolden others to "not respond" to legally binding information requests as a "vehicle for delay."
Cooke stressed that Thomas had always planned to make the information about the organization's finances public. But Cooke accused Nickles of engaging in "blatant retribution" by demanding that he turn over the information so quickly.
"We refuse to be bullied by the attorney general," Cooke said, noting that Nickles was pressing to get the information before Election Day. "We refuse to be used as a political pawn by the attorney general."
Too early to tell if GOP-controlled House will meddle with D.C. affairs, Norton says
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2010/11/too_early_to_tell_if_gop-contr.html
November 2, 2010; 10:39 PM ET
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said Tuesday night that it was too early to tell whether the new GOP majority in the House of Representatives will take aim at the District's same-sex marriage, medical marijuana or needle exchange laws.
"Everything we do is threatened, that comes with the territory, but it would be foolhardy to declare those things gone," Norton said.
With Democrats expected to retain control of the Senate, she said that chamber will now become the backstop for preventing congressional meddling in District affairs.
"Anything they pass in the House will fail in the Senate," said Norton, noting that 60 votes are needed to break a filibuster.
But Norton said she will have to embrace a new "strategy" for pushing for and protecting local concerns in a GOP-controlled House, which she said she is prepared for.
"I do not sit in fear of Republicans because I have been there before," Norton said.
Norton was unsure what District law could be most threatened, saying that will become clear in a few days when she's able to determine precisely "who won and who lost."
Regardless, she said, District affairs could become entangled in numerous House floor debates.
"You wouldn't have thought Congress could get more polarizing than it was under (former Speaker) Newt Gingrich, but this may be that Congress," she said.
Gains for anti-spending GOP mean trouble for a region dominated by federal dollars
By Robert McCartney
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110206789.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110206789.html
Tuesday, November 2, 2010; 11:14 PM
If your region typically votes Democratic and depends heavily on federal dollars for its prosperity, it's a bad day when Republicans make big gains in Congress after campaigning on passionate pledges to scale back government.
Pardon me for seeming blatantly partisan, but that judgment sums up the mid-term elections' likely impact on the Washington area. Assuming the voting trends seen early Tuesday evening are accurate in forecasting GOP advances in both the House and Senate, it's hard to find a silver lining for the region.
Of course, our area would benefit along with the rest of the nation if Republican-backed policies succeed in helping to revive the economy, hold down taxes and reduce government burdens on business.
But Democratic losses translate into trouble when it comes to many issues unique to our region, such as Metro funding, federal jobs and voting rights in the District. If the GOP wrests control of the House as expected, it would cost the region influence on Capitol Hill - particularly because local Democratic heavyweight Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.) would lose his position as majority leader.
If the GOP forces cuts in government spending as it promises, the region would have to rely less on Uncle Sam and more on its own resources to pay for mass transit projects and other needs. It would have to step up efforts to attract private businesses to invest here, to offset losses in federal jobs and contracts.
(Admittedly, the Republicans weren't very effective reining in federal spending the last time they were in power. This time they say they really mean it, and the deficit is gaping.)
Republicans trying to protect farm and business interests could slow the Obama administration's campaign to accelerate cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. The District will almost certainly attract more attention from conservatives trying to roll back or block implementation of liberal measures such as gun control, same-sex marriage, medical marijuana and needle-exchange programs.
The election will lift the importance in the region of two Virginia Republicans, Rep. Wolf and Gov. Bob McDonnell, who will serve as important conduits to the new House leadership. Wolf , a 20-year veteran who represents a district stretching from McLean to Winchester, has been a strong advocate for the region on transportation. McDonnell, if he chooses, can press the House to help Northern Virginia in hope of ensuring that the state votes Republican in the presidential contest in 2012.
Here are some highlights of how the GOP's new strength in Congress will affect our region.
Less transportation money. It's going to be more difficult to pry loose federal money to build new mass transit projects, such as the proposed light-rail Purple Line in suburban Maryland. It might even require a fight to ensure getting $150 million a year of promised (but not yet appropriated) federal money to modernize and upgrade Metro. Wolf's strong support for the Silver Line, which is already under construction, probably means federal funds are safe for that new Metro line in Northern Virginia.
The outlook for getting more federal money for road improvements is uncertain. House Republicans have ruled out raising the gasoline tax to raise needed revenue. However, they will be more open than the Democrats to adding tolls, such as on Interstate 95, and to creating public-private partnerships to pay to widen highways and build new interchanges.
Bureaucrats under siege. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), who is expected to become Speaker of the House, said in August that taxpayers shouldn't be "subsidizing the fattened salaries and pensions of federal bureaucrats" whom he criticized for allegedly "making it harder to create private sector jobs." Expect pressure to hold down or even reduce pay and benefits for government workers, and to trim staff.
Republicans might also try to cut spending on federal contracts, although they also might protect defense contracts against cuts proposed by Democrats. If contracting dollars shrink overall, it would weaken one of the main sources of economic growth in the Washington region.
Vanishing power brokers. Going into the election, five of the six congressmen from districts nearest to Washington were Democrats and thus in the majority. Now, they'll all be in the minority, and only Republican Frank Wolf (and maybe Keith Fimian, if he beats Rep. Gerry Connolly in Northern Virginia) will be in the majority.
In addition, the region loses the extra influence of having two congressmen high in the majority's leadership structure. Hoyer, who's been the No. 2 Democrat in the House after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, used his position to win Metro funding and support District voting rights. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), who represents parts of Montgomery and Prince George's counties, headed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Still waiting for D.C. rights. Perhaps the biggest single setback will be to the prospect of getting full voting rights for District residents. Republicans generally oppose that effort, partly because the District's 600,000 residents would elect liberal Democrats if they ever got voting seats in Congress.
The Washington region will continue to have leverage with the Democrats still controlling the White House and (apparently) the Senate. But the area will have to lower its expectations and adapt to the new reality of wielding less clout.
Creating checks and balances in D.C.
By: JONETTA ROSE BARRAS
Examiner Columnist
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Creating-checks-and-balances-in-D_C_--1420442-106555488.html#ixzz14D5j4Rcv
Examiner Columnist
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Creating-checks-and-balances-in-D_C_--1420442-106555488.html#ixzz14D5j4Rcv
November 2, 2010
All eyes may be focused on how Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray builds his Cabinet to advance reforms and improvements begun by outgoing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. But, the legislature has an equally critical role; how Chairman-elect Kwame Brown restructures council committees could be the first signal of the kind of check he intends to place on the executive.
Sources told me Gray has lobbied Brown to appoint Ward 3's Mary Cheh chairwoman pro tempore and head of the education committee. Further, the chairman-elect may remove the budget from his Committee of the Whole.
Reassessing committee configurations is a good thing. Their structure often seemed illogical: Why, for example, was government operations paired with the environment? How did the committee overseeing the Office of Aging get stitched to community affairs; shouldn't it have been under the committee dealing with parks and libraries -- areas that truly involve the community?
As Brown begins his work, I'd like to offer a few suggestions:
*Create an appropriations committee, charged with all things fiscal, including revenue collections, tax incentives and credits, and the city's operating budget. Naturally, all of that committee's proposals would need the approval of the Committee of the Whole and the full council. Councilman Jack Evans, with the requisite institutional knowledge, expertise and fiscal courage, is the only man for that job.
*Consider removing education from the Committee of the Whole and add work force development to its focus. Despite the stellar work of former Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, reforming D.C. Public Schools isn't complete. There has been indisputable academic progress, but general administration and financial management need attention. Additionally, education remains the prime factor for ensuring a larger percentage of District residents share in the city's wealth; that's good reason to link it and work force development. Brown may want to tap David Catania for this assignment; his oversight of the Health Department provides tangible evidence of his ability to use the process to transform an agency while aggressively driving service delivery improvements.
*Split environmental affairs from the Committee on Government Operations. Overseeing procurement reform, elections and campaign finance operations, along with the Office of the Mayor, are meaty tasks; they deserve more detailed and consistent oversight.
*Place economic development under the Committee of the Whole. Some people will grouse that such a move guarantees the chairman-elect stays connected to the money. That may be true. Not unlike education reform, jobs and economic development are top issues for District residents. The effects of the "Great Recession" demand the legislature focus more intensely on them. As the former chairman of the economic development committee, Brown acquired expertise that makes him the logical choice.
*Create a true ethics committee, sending the message that in addition to improved oversight, legislators, during the next council period, will be held to higher standards and, unlike in the past, missteps will be addressed immediately and forcefully. If that happens, it surely would be a good thing.
TBD.com
November 2, 2010 - 12:00 PM
Among the many nightmare scenarios under discussion this Election Day morning: If Republicans gain control of Congress, will they exert their influence to end gay marriage in the District of Columbia?
Just in time for the polls, publications onboth sides of the marriage equality issueare rehashing Dave Weigel's excellent Oct. 1 profile of Jason Chaffetz, a man who could today become a very important figure for Washington, D.C. Chaffetz is the charming, gay marriage-hating Utah Republican who will soon be heading up the House subcommittee tasked with overseeing the District of Columbia, should Republicans win the House today.
Chaffetz previously attempted to force a referendum on the gay marriage issue in D.C. through Congress, but failed. So why are marriage-minded activists echoing Chaffetz's name on Nov. 2? With more Republican support in Congress, the coverage implies, Chaffetz could again raise the marriage issue, and win this time.
The Daily Kos takes the argument one step further: "If the Republicans take over Congress, you can be assured that their 'Christian' Right constituents will pressure them to add a repeal of equal marriage in the District to something else that's sure to pass—putting Democrats in a difficult position."
Is this stuff going to happen? I consulted longtime District LGBT activist Rick Rosendall, who previously defended the District's chances against rogue Utah senatorsin Metro Weekly. Rosendall wrote via e-mail:
We prepared and planned thoroughly for our marriage-equality push, and have a lot going for us: a unified city council and a supportive incoming mayor; a unified LGBT community that kept its eyes on the prize and did solid coalition work all through the fight so far; an electorate that repudiated every anti-equality challenger; multiple polls that show we would win a ballot measure if one is imposed on us; a campaign organization in place to lobby Congress or fight a ballot measure as necessary; a strong advocate in Congresswoman Norton; solid legal work including a thorough update of D.C. Code (including making the marriage law gender neutral) before marriage equality was even brought up in the Council, so that our opponents have nary a legal foothold; and a long string of victories for our marriage equality law in every venue where it has been challenged, from several challenges before the Board of Elections and Ethics to several different courts. Remember, GLAA has been working on this for a very long time. It was in 1979 that we got the D.C. Council to bar ballot measures that would infringe rights protected under the D.C. Human Rights Act, and Congress has never challenged that in 31 years.
Even if a repeal measure gets out of the House, there is a good chance of stopping it in the Senate, and by the time we were done there would not be sufficient votes to override a presidential veto. Of course various parliamentary maneuvers are possible, and we will have to keep a close watch. But we are better positioned to defend marriage equality in the District than people would expect who did not pay attention to our careful step-by-step strategy over the years. And we will be fighting on our home turf.
Could the worst still happen, as the Daily Kos writer suggests? Sure. But Rep. Chaffetz could not even get half of his own caucus to back his effort against us in the current Congress, and the Republicans will have much bigger fish to fry in the next one. So we'll see. But I wouldn't be so quick to bet against D.C. We won't give up easily.
Okay! That was very convincing. "As you can see," Rosendall says, "I am not terribly worried." Care to argue that D.C. gay marriage is going down in flames anyway? Leave a comment or drop me a line.
Gray wins, other races too close to call
By: FREEMAN KLOPOTT
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Gray-wins_-other-races-too-close-to-call-1421841-106580653.html#ixzz14D3AV7LF
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Gray-wins_-other-races-too-close-to-call-1421841-106580653.html#ixzz14D3AV7LF
November 2, 2010
Challenger easily captures D.C. mayoral vote
Vincent Gray coasted to victory in the District's mayoral election, defeating an insurgent write-in campaign for incumbent Adrian Fenty that never had the mayor's backing.
As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics was reporting Gray had picked up 18,000 votes, or about 78 percent of the ballots cast. About 4,570 write-in votes in the mayor's race had been counted, although there was no way to know if Fenty collected all of those.
Following his loss to Gray in the September Democratic primary, Fenty had pledged his support for the council chairman in the general election. But Fenty made no move to stop the write-in effort. Gray had to call out Fenty on his recalcitrance before the lame-duck mayor turned his back on the write-in campaign.
About 16,000 voters had cast ballots in favor of a referendum to elect the attorney general; 4,683 had voted against it.
Board of Elections struggles with reporting again
By Christopher Dean Hopkins
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 2, 2010; 10:11 PM E
The D,.C. Board of Elections has only counted 7 percent of precincts at of 10 p.m. Tuesday, but The Associated Press is projecting D.C. Council chairman Vincent C. Gray the city's next mayor.
The slow-pace count at the board of elections on Tuesday night is reminiscent of the Sept. 14 primary vote, when the employees at the board of elections did not come up with a final tally for city contests until well after midnight.
Meanwhile, voting officials in Virginia had managed to tabulate almost 2 million votes.
Sally MacDonald, a third-time observer with the Federation of Citizen Associations, said this year's pace is better than the past several election cycles going back to 2008. She said the staff is "much more" experienced, but officials "need to organize the space better."
She admitted, however, that D.C. process is still slower than surrounding jurisdictions, including Virginia.
D.C. tax amnesty garners $20.8M
Washington Business Journal - by Michael Neibauer
Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 11:55am EDT
The District collected about $20.8 million in delinquent taxes during its recently concluded tax amnesty program, narrowly beating estimates.
Tax amnesty, backed by a $750,000 advertising campaign, ran from Aug. 2 through Sept. 30.
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer projected the program would generate $20 million. According to the Office of Tax and Revenue, 11,518 delinquent taxpayers -- out of roughly 42,000 -- coughed up their past due taxes and interest during the two month period.
"We are very pleased to have exceeded our goal of collecting $20 million in delinquent taxes," CFO Natwar Gandhi said in a statement. "This money has come at a most important time."
Falling short of expectations would have worsened the District's shaky fiscal condition. Topping estimates is a bonus, but the $800,000 is less than 1 percent of the city's estimated FY 2011 revenue shortfall.
The amnesty program erased all fees and penalties from scofflaw's back bills, but the interest remained. Real property taxes were not included.
The largest individual amnesty payment totaled $954,916, according to OTR, and the largest business payment $870,878.77. Two people showed up at OTR's customer service desk at 11:58 p.m. Sept. 30 to pay.
Forty-five percent of amnesty payments were individual income taxes, 16 percent sales and use, 13 percent corporate franchise, 11 percent unincorporated franchise, 8 percent personal property, 4 percent withholding and 3 percent other.
Stephen Cordi, deputy CFO for the tax office, said fewer delinquent cases in its pipeline means OTR can "pursue collection from those who did not take advantage of the amnesty."
Fenty write-in supporters make a statement
By Mike DeBonis
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 3, 2010; 1:30 AM ET
The die-hard supporters who urged voters to write in Adrian Fenty for a second term as mayor appear to have made their point loud and clear: This ain't "one city" yet.
Unofficial election night returns show that 22.8 percent of mayoral votes went to write-in candidates. It is unknown, and will remain unknown, how many of those actually went to Fenty.
But Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray now knows that however many speeches he makes seeking conciliation in this racially and economically divided city, he will have to give the city's most affluent quarters more than rhetoric to win their backing.
Write-ins did the best in Ward 3, the city's wealthiest, where 43 percent of voters opted to scratch in a name. Gray still took better than 52 percent of the ward total, but he lost two precincts there, as well as the two Ward 4 precincts located west of Rock Creek Park. He also fell behind the write-ins in two Georgetown precincts, in Ward 2, and in three Capitol Hill precincts, in Ward 6.
What is also clear is that anger at the primary result had its limits.
There was not, in fact, a mass uprising aimed at Ward 3 council memberMary Cheh, who defied her ward's preference for Fenty (and, by extension, his schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee) to endorse Gray before the primary. Republican David Hedgepeth, who made great hay over Cheh's mayoral endorsement, got a little more than 6,000 votes, or 34 percent -- only about 600 votes better than the Republican that Cheh faced in 2006, Theresa Conroy.
If there is one place where "One City" ends, it may be Precinct 9 -- the tony Spring Valley neighborhood in the city's western corner. It is the only precinct to prefer a write-in candidate to Gray (342-290) and also to prefer Hedgepeth to Cheh.
Voter uses Fenty stamp on voting-machine screen
By Mike DeBonis
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 2, 2010; 3:32 PM ET
Supporters of a write-in campaign for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), aiming to make the process as simple as possible, have made ink stamps bearing Fenty's name, which voters can take into the polls to stamp their ballots.
But it wasn't so simple for one Fenty supporter Tuesday afternoon. That voter, at Precinct 51 at Lafayette Elementary School in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, appears to have used the stamp on the screen of an electronic machine, election officials said.
The stamps, it apparently does not go without saying, are meant to be used on paper ballots only.
Alysoun McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, said that no permanent damage was done to the machine, but poll workers "needed to know how they were supposed to clean the screen."
The stamps have the blessing of elections officials, and they have been used in past write-in campaigns, including for Mayor Anthony A. Williams's successful effort in the 2002 primaries.
Save DC Now told to quit
Washington Business Journal - by Michael Neibauer
Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 11:31am EDT - Last Modified: Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 3:58pm EDT
Just in time for the polls to open, the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance has released a cease and desist order against Save DC Now Inc., the registered organization behind the unauthorized Mayor Adrian Fenty write-in campaign.
Fenty, of course, lost his reelection bid in September, when he was defeated in the Democratic Primary by D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray. The mayor now supports Gray, and Fenty 2010 Chairman Bill Lightfoot told the Office of Campaign Finance that the primary campaign committee "did not contribute, donate to or authorize the use of its literature by the respondent committee, any group or individual."
But this band of Fenty supporters have been undeterred, repurposing Fenty 2010 literature and signs to boost their write-in effort. That's not legal, the Office of Campaign Finance said in its order, issued Monday. Failure to comply could result in $500 per day fines.
The decision was first reported by the Washington City Paper.
In other news — so far, so good for area elections, news outlets are saying ...
The Washington Post's D.C. Wire Blog reports all is good in the District, a far cry from the mess that was the Sept. 14 primary.
TBD.com is live blogging the day's voting festivities, with special attention paid to the election rematch between U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D, and Keith Fimian, R, in Virginia's 11th U.S. House District.
NBC Washington reports that Marc Barnes, owner of Club Love at 1350 Okie St. NE, where presumptive D.C. Mayor-elect Vincent Gray and D.C. Council Chairman-elect Kwame Brown will hold their election night celebrations, owes almost $900,000 in taxes. The election night parties were moved Monday from The Park at Fourteenth, another Barnes' nightspot, to the more spacious Love.
You Can Love The Idea, But The Location Stinks
By Martin Austermuhle in News on November 2, 2010 8:05 PM
DCist.com
As Aaron summarized in the Morning Roundup, tonight's victory party for both presumptive Mayor-elect Vince Gray and presumptive Council Chair-elect Kwame Brown will take place at Love, the massive Northeast nightclub.
But not only will Gray and Brown be in attendance: Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. opted today to move his 50th birthday party and fundraiser to the locale, and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton also announced that she would be hosting an elections return-watching party at the club. In a press release, Norton said of the decision, "By coming together on election night, at the same location, we start off demonstrating that we intend to operate as a united government, working together to meet the needs of District residents."
Fun, right? Maybe, if you get past the club's reputation.
NBC 4's Tom Sherwood reported yesterday that the club's owner, Marc Barnes, owes the city close to $900,000 in personal and business taxes. And as Aaron recalled, the club's liquor license was yanked at the start of the year after a series of violent incidents. Add to those two factors Thomas' own legal troubles -- he has been accused of running a non-profit as a personal slush fund -- and you've got a lot of headaches for Gray and Brown aides that were really hoping to live up to their campaign promises of a cleaner, more accountable government.
And while it's sure to be a great party tonight, don't count on very much real-time coverage from print or online reporters. In an announcement sent to the media about the party, the Gray campaign stressed that "no hard network lines or wireless internet connections will be available." This is an odd departure from their post-primary party, which was held at a Capitol Hill hotel and offered working journalists wireless Internet. I'll try and live-tweet the thing if I get out there, which in and of itself will be a struggle, considering the club's proximity to...well, nothing.
There's plenty to hate about the Love party, huh? Thankfully, there are a number of other campaign parties happening, so most of the city's political revelers can save themselves the trip to 1350 Okie Street NE.
Polls open smoothly in District
By Mike DeBonis
D.C. Wire (Washington Post blog)
November 2, 2010; 11:10 AM ET
All 143 city polling locations opened on time this morning, said Rokey W. Suleman II, executive director of the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics. That represents a much improved showing from the Sept. 14 primary, when issues with new equipment led to late openings in a handful of precincts.
As in September, Suleman said there have been "hiccups," primarily with poll workers who had trouble connecting printers to voting machines. The printers are necessary to print reports before polls open, showing that no votes have been cast on the machines. None of the issues delayed voters, Suleman said.
At Precinct 141, at the Frank D. Reeves Center at 14th and U Streets NW, some poll workers did not show up this morning, requiring officials to send in backup personnel.
Traci Hughes, a spokeswoman for Vincent Gray's mayoral campaign, said that she has gotten many fewer complaints than in September. "I'm not getting the frantic calls," she said. "So far, so good."
Gray had been deeply critical of the board's primary day performance.
After the primary, the board offered precinct captains and other poll workers as much as eight hours of additional training to prevent a repeat of September's problems. Officials, criticized for the late timing of primary returns, will face an additional test this evening as they aim to more swiftly report the day's results.
D.C. exodus to charters among highest in U.S.
By: LISA GARTNER
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-exodus-to-charters-among-highest-in-U_S_-1418198-106557253.html#ixzz14D3nxwCA
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-exodus-to-charters-among-highest-in-U_S_-1418198-106557253.html#ixzz14D3nxwCA
November 2, 2010
A higher percentage of District children are flocking to charter schools than anywhere else in the nation except New Orleans, according to a new report.
Thirty-eight percent of D.C. Public Schools students are enrolled in public charter schools, putting the school district behind only New Orleans's towering 61 percent.
The District's 27,660 charter school students placed the system eighth among districts in terms of total enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year, down from sixth the previous year, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools' annual report found. Los Angeles topped the list with nearly 70,000 charter students, followed by Detroit and Houston.
This is the first year that four city school districts -- New Orleans, D.C., Detroit and Kansas City, Mo. -- saw at least one-third of public school students enrolled in charters.
"It tells us that there is a strong and continued demand for these innovative schools," said Anna Nicotera, the report's author and the research director for the National Alliance. "People want to be able to choose the best public school option for their child, and public charter schools are giving families that chance."
The District has 52 public charter schools.
Erin Dillon, senior policy analyst for independent think tank Education Sector, said the District's high charter participation is less about the charters and more about the other option: D.C. public schools.
"It's a reflection of the poor performance of the District public schools historically," Dillon said. "Parents interested in living in the city are desperate for options, so charter schools are a pretty natural fit."
DCPS trumpeted its first enrollment increase in 39 years this school year with a bump of about 1.6 percent to 46,515, to be officially confirmed by auditors, and hailed as the fruit of Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's reforms. A day later, the D.C. Public Charter School Board announced its unaudited enrollment increase of 7 percent over the last school year.
Graduation rates and test scores climbed during Rhee's 3 1/2-year reign, but her blunt leadership style isolated angered the teachers union and many voters. She resigned last month after Mayor Adrian Fenty lost his bid for re-election.
Dillon predicted that charter school enrollment would remain high in the years ahead, but the growth may slow: "It'll be a real test of what Michelle Rhee did and improvements made in the District as to whether or not [DCPS] can successfully compete with charter schools and get those kids back."
So when exactly was Rhee's last day?
By Bill Turque
D.C. Schools Insider (Washington Post blog)
November 2, 2010; 1:20 PM ET
The plan, by every official account, was that the Michelle Rhee era at DCPS would draw to a close on Friday, the last working day of October. Kaya Henderson, who had moved into Rhee's office that day, would be interim chancellor effective Monday. (The photo on the desk during Monday's exit interview with Channel 4's Tom Sherwood is of Henderson and her boyfriend).
But when Rhee strode onto Kennedy Center stage in her glittering sequined gown for Monday evening's teacher tribute, she was still in power. So what was the deal?
DCPS officials were a bit surprised, and attribute the delayed handoff to a "misunderstanding" with Rhee, whose scheduling and communications had been taken over by outside handlers some weeks ago.
Rhee remains coy about her next move
By: Lisa Gartner
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/rhee-remains-coy-about-her-next-move-106559773.html#ixzz14D6LtoeY
Examiner Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/rhee-remains-coy-about-her-next-move-106559773.html#ixzz14D6LtoeY
11/02/10 6:15 PM EDT
If D.C. politics are like middle school, then Michelle Rhee is the most popular girl at the big dance: “I’m looking at lots of different options right now,” the recently resigned schools chancellor said Tuesday afternoon.
When asked about her next move, Rhee told CNN, “I haven’t decided that yet.” As for running another school district, Rhee said she will “potentially” fill those shoes.
Rhee publicly resigned on Oct. 13 in the wake of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s loss in the Democratic mayoral primary to Council Chairman Vincent Gray, who long criticized Rhee’s blunt leadership style and whose victory Rhee called “devastating” just a day later. Many viewed the election on Rhee’s reforms, which centered on closing underperforming schools and firing teachers rated ineffective during classroom observations.
Would she have done anything differently? “Absolutely,” said Rhee, although she added, “Our failures were not failures of policy. Our failures were failures of politics and communication.”
“It shouldn’t be a lesson to politicians in other communities you shouldn’t move as aggressively as we did.”
Posted by Keach Hagey 09:30 AM
Politico
The Washington Times sale that began with a due diligence process in late August has gone through, sources close to the sale tell POLITICO.
News World Communications, the paper’s parent company, chaired by Preston Moon, sold the paper to News World Media Development, a Delaware-registered LLC led by former Times Chairman Douglas Joo.
The sale represents a return to the paper’s old guard and has widely been interpreted as the paper’s founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, reasserting control over the 28-year-old newspaper that has been one of the most public faces of his sprawling business empire.
A staff meeting has been called at 11 a.m. to discuss the sale. More details as we get them.
Mike DeBonis: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/debonis/2010/11/demorning_debonis_nov_2_2010.html
Loose Lips (daily column): http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2010/11/02/loose-lips-daily-you-can-party-in-da-club-that-owes-d-c-back-taxes-edition/
DMV (P.J. Orvetti): http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/DMV-Daily-Todays-the-Day-106512339.html
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