Washington, D.C. has had a hard time recovering economically from last month’s events. Expenditures are down, and the parts of the city that rely heavily on tourist traffic have been hit especially hard.
In an attempt to get people back downtown, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority ran Metro subways and all buses for free on Saturday and Sunday. While it could have benefited from better publicizing, the measure was partially successful; some downtown businesses seem to be getting back to normal. Others are still facing difficulties, especially services on or around the Mall that cater directly to tourists, such as kiosks and the Trolley tours.
The multiple anthrax episodes have undoubtably contributed to skepticism of the District’s safety.
However, the continuing difficulty can be partially blamed on the mixed messages being sent by the federal government. After weeks of messages encouraging a return to normal, the FBI surprised everyone with a warning of an imminent second attack.
How to ensure that safety is clearly the chief responsibility of the Williams administration and the District’s government. But, not unexpectedly, since Sept. 11 the federal government has seen fit to play a much larger role in maintaining security in Washington. Street closings occur almost every day as a result of direct orders from federal agencies, usually without input from District officials. In addition, agencies have barred trucks from streets in front of their offices, banned on-street parking and generally heightened tensions. The extended closing of Reagan National Airport was also decided without any real input from Williams.
Both the mayor and all federal agencies clearly have the safety of D.C. at heart. The solution is not for the federal government to override the District’s authority and implement security precautions. At the very least, federal agencies should be working with the mayor to include him as much as possible in determining appropriate security measures. Anything less would demonstrate a remarkably ineffective delegation of tasks and authority. The federal government should be primarily concerned with the larger picture. Local efforts at security can benefit from federal intelligence, but the decisions still need to incorporate local officials.
With Mayor Williams doing his best to bring tourists back to the city, the message is mixed?is or isn’t the city safe? And, in the long run, an additional confusion arises. Does the District’s elected government have any real clout? The Williams administration’s successes at revitalizing D.C.’s economy and consequently improving Washington’s image by leaps and bounds have been awarded with increased power. The trend has been towards powerful District leadership, even statehood. The past month has seen a remarkable reversal in that progress.
Federal agencies should have no reason to fear including D.C.’s elected leaders in their security decisions. The mayor and his staff clearly have one eye on the fate of D.C.’s economy?but so should the federal government. Likewise, maintaining safety is the goal of both groups. Williams and his administration shouldn’t be cut out of the process.
