As December winds down, so too does the District of Columbia’s tumultuous eight-year love affair with outgoing Mayor Anthony Williams. On Jan. 2, Williams will hand the reins of the city, and a mixed legacy, to Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty.
Williams pulled D.C. out of the financial disaster that ensnared it throughout the ‘90s and presided over a dramatic revitalization of ailing neighborhoods. He also alienated many in the city who felt left behind by his policies.
Williams came to the District in the days of Marion Barry, when Washington was synonymous with mismanagement and poor financial leadership. Congress appointed a board to supervise the city’s spending, which in turn appointed Williams the District’s Chief Financial Officer.
Credited by many with providing strong financial stewardship that saved the city from its half-a-billion-dollar budget deficit, Williams was easily elected mayor in 1998, his first public office held since his days as a Yale University student.
The low-key Williams offered a welcome change from the flashy, flamboyant Barry (as far as we know, Williams has never been arrested for cocaine possession).
The mayor’s efforts to raise the city’s image can be seen in many neighborhoods. Downtown has flourished. A new baseball stadium rises from the once-decrepit Anacostia waterfront. Property values have steadily risen throughout the city.
But critics of the mayor say these changes have failed to solve the major problems of poverty, crime and education that continue to plague the city. Crime in the District dropped under Williams-appointed Police Chief Charles Ramsey, whom Fenty recently replaced with Cathy Lanier.
Despite the decrease, though, events like last summer’s brutal Q St. murder of Alan Sennitt, which led to the declaration of a city-wide crime emergency, illustrate the city’s ongoing problems.
The District’s public school system continues to be seen as one of the worst in the nation. Fenty, a critic of Williams’ education policies, has hinted at a mayoral takeover of the school system. Williams tried — and failed — to accomplish the same feat two years ago.
Williams also engineered a détente between the liberal city government and the conservative Congress. He infuriated many Democrats by publicly expressing support for Sen. Sam Brownback’s (R-Kan.) proposal to institute a flat tax in the District.
It’s clear that the city fell out of love with Williams some time ago. He decided against running for a third term in office, and his preferred candidate, Council Chair Linda Cropp, lost the Democratic primary in a landslide to Fenty.
Fenty promises to take a more proactive stance on issues such as education than Williams. Hopefully he will be able to keep Williams’ successes alive while establishing his own legacy.
