Washington DC Mayor loses 9/14/10 primary last winter blizzards part of the reason

[Shortline Bus]

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty Defeated by Council Chief Vincent Gray in 9/14/10 Primary.

 

BY Tom Diemer

AOL News

 

Washingtonians also rejected the establishment candidate last night, and traded in D.C.'s current mayor, Adrian Fenty, for a guy who spent most of his professional life working on behalf of the homeless and mentally retarded. True to form in the city that John F. Kennedy said had "Southern efficiency and Northern charm," the announcement of DC Council Chairman Vince Gray's Democratic primary win was delayed last night; a full five hours after the polls closed, only a quarter of the votes had been counted.

 

 

Gray faces no real competition in November, so is effectively the mayor-elect in a heavily African American city where Fenty was increasingly seen as arrogant, elitist, and the mayor of mostly white Northwest, more interested in sprucing up dog parks and firing black teachers than addressing widespread unemployment.

Polling by the Washington Post indicated that Fenty's lack of support among black voters was strongly tied to his head-knocking schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, who made some progress in improving student test scores but will not be replacing Hillary Clinton as chief diplomat any time soon. It's not yet clear whether Gray will try to retain Rhee, who campaigned for Fenty and has strongly hinted that she wouldn't stay on if he lost.

 

The result didn't come as a shock to official Washington -- pre-election polls had showed Fenty losing to Gray. But the incumbent's decisive defeat was a sobering reminder that being nice counts for something in politics, even when one has numerous accomplishments to boast about.

 

Fenty's prickly personality and stand-offishness turned off black voters -- and cost him even though he achieved much of what he set out to do in 2006 as the youngest mayor in four decades of home rule in the nation's capital.

 

Gray, 67, who if elected in the fall will be the oldest elected D.C. mayor, made nice and captured 56 percent of the vote with a campaign promising to bring the city together. "Despite our differences, I know well that Adrian Fenty shares our commitment to this city," he said in a conciliatory gesture early Wednesday, according to the Washington Post.

 

Vincent GrayDuring his tenure, Fenty hired a popular female police chief -- and crime went down. He and Rhee can also take credit for improving one of the worst public school systems in the nation. But the 39-year-old mayor constantly squabbled with the city council, even quarreling over the distribution of baseball tickets.

 

After storms that paralyzed the city last winter, Fenty gave a local TV anchor a famously "let-them-eat-cake" answer to the question of just when the mountains of snow might be removed. When "the temperature gets warm enough that it can melt," he said -- and at that precise moment, may have frozen the public impression that such concerns were beneath him."

 

 

 

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/09/15/washington-mayor-adrian-fenty-defeated-by-council-chief-vincent/?flv=1

[Shortline Bus]

So in sense, Fenty joins the late NYC Mayor John Lindsay and also a former Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic, who both lost re-election bids, partly due to their lack of covering blizzards the previous winter.

 

 

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty Defeated by Council Chief Vincent Gray in 9/14/10 Primary.

 

BY Tom Diemer

AOL News

 

Washingtonians also rejected the establishment candidate last night, and traded in D.C.'s current mayor, Adrian Fenty, for a guy who spent most of his professional life working on behalf of the homeless and mentally retarded. True to form in the city that John F. Kennedy said had "Southern efficiency and Northern charm," the announcement of DC Council Chairman Vince Gray's Democratic primary win was delayed last night; a full five hours after the polls closed, only a quarter of the votes had been counted.

 

 

Gray faces no real competition in November, so is effectively the mayor-elect in a heavily African American city where Fenty was increasingly seen as arrogant, elitist, and the mayor of mostly white Northwest, more interested in sprucing up dog parks and firing black teachers than addressing widespread unemployment.

Polling by the Washington Post indicated that Fenty's lack of support among black voters was strongly tied to his head-knocking schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, who made some progress in improving student test scores but will not be replacing Hillary Clinton as chief diplomat any time soon. It's not yet clear whether Gray will try to retain Rhee, who campaigned for Fenty and has strongly hinted that she wouldn't stay on if he lost.

 

The result didn't come as a shock to official Washington -- pre-election polls had showed Fenty losing to Gray. But the incumbent's decisive defeat was a sobering reminder that being nice counts for something in politics, even when one has numerous accomplishments to boast about.

 

Fenty's prickly personality and stand-offishness turned off black voters -- and cost him even though he achieved much of what he set out to do in 2006 as the youngest mayor in four decades of home rule in the nation's capital.

 

Gray, 67, who if elected in the fall will be the oldest elected D.C. mayor, made nice and captured 56 percent of the vote with a campaign promising to bring the city together. "Despite our differences, I know well that Adrian Fenty shares our commitment to this city," he said in a conciliatory gesture early Wednesday, according to the Washington Post.

 

Vincent GrayDuring his tenure, Fenty hired a popular female police chief -- and crime went down. He and Rhee can also take credit for improving one of the worst public school systems in the nation. But the 39-year-old mayor constantly squabbled with the city council, even quarreling over the distribution of baseball tickets.

 

After storms that paralyzed the city last winter, Fenty gave a local TV anchor a famously "let-them-eat-cake" answer to the question of just when the mountains of snow might be removed. When "the temperature gets warm enough that it can melt," he said -- and at that precise moment, may have frozen the public impression that such concerns were beneath him."

 

 

 

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/09/15/washington-mayor-adrian-fenty-defeated-by-council-chief-vincent/?flv=1

[Urbanfortitude]

Jesus! 67 Years Old!? There ought to be an age cap for how old you can be to serve in public offices. No offense but some of these guys are real dinosaurs and I'm not even sure how in touch they are with the rest of society.

[Shortline Bus]

Forest Glen since you lived/went to Howard Univ. for a brief time I am sure you got something to say about the recent Mayoral election?

[Grand Concourse]

Jesus! 67 Years Old!? There ought to be an age cap for how old you can be to serve in public offices. No offense but some of these guys are real dinosaurs and I'm not even sure how in touch they are with the rest of society.

 

Speaking of dinosaurs: why the hell are Harlem voters still putting that swindeler Rangel back into office? The fact that Rangel has the nerve to even run again after his scandals is a bigger crime.

[lilbluefoxie]

the only thing Rangel should be in charge of, is the license plate machine in the state prison

[metsfan]

Uhm, DC has no real snow removal equipment......?

 

 

- A

[Shortline Bus]

Uhm, DC has no real snow removal equipment......?

 

 

- A

 

 

Very true. Plus other than the economy (main reason Fenty lost)he seemed to be doing a descent job. If test scores were going up and the crime rate being lowered(must be decades since those areas were improving in DC)barring another guy with a better resume, IMO Fenty should have been re-elected.:confused: