Linda is just following the example set by our current Republican controlled Government.
Where the sun don't shine.

thanks for telling the whole truth about linda cropp, now let the word go forward.

Fenty, Fenty, Fenty.

Great article. DC residents need to hear more of these stories. Why don't major networks like ABC, NBC and etc cover these stories? The election is soon approaching. We all need to hear the truth and/or facts about our future candidates.

In addition, I disagree with Richard's comment. Do not blame on any political party and/or third party. She commited the crime and she is responsible for it.

Reminds me of the days when people in DC government went to jail for buying stereo systems for their boss's office. "Crop practising obscurity in her government office." Put her in jail. Next to the big business people who certainly deseve to be there. Helping business. What a nerve!

so sick of washpost's biased "reporters"... the fisher/silverman/montgomery campaign for fenty continues...

I like much about Cropp, but this approach will do nothing to advance governance in the District. It sure won't gain trust.

Marc,
Great blog, but you can forget about an invite to her inaugural, if God forbid she wins. That devious game she played with the stadium was enough to convince me she is the Devil's spawn. And yet, she has many D.C. voters fooled! Heaven help them if she wins.

Williams, even with his reprehensible gallivanting around the globe, is still better than Cropp or Fenty. Its a shame he didn't run again. Hey Fenty: I'm not voting for you, so stop putting your signs in my yard when I'm not looking.

DC Native-
Other articles not withstanding, what exactly is biased about Fisher telling me and you that Linda Cropp is very secretive? He isnt making it up as goes along, i dont know if you caught it but there were actual examples in there.
Is it inate bias to support Fenty over Cropp?

And I too have lived my whole life here so I know as well as you that we don't need anymore murky stuff to happen in these parts.

Marc-
the link to the council vote is a dud, can we get a good one up. Thanks

Gotta agree with DC native here. Fisher is out to bash Cropp. Where is similar reporting on Fenty? No exposes on how his bar license got lifted? Some of his less-than-savory campaign staff? How about his outright ignorance and race-baiting on the stadioum deal?

Oh yeah, Fisher is balanced alright.

For the record, I strongly support Cropp. She will provide balanced and even-keeled leadership for the City. I ahve lived in DC all my life and plan to move out of the city if Fenty wins. All he wants to do is race-bait, antagonize business and pad his resume.

Cropp is a DC political animal, nothing more nothing less.

That also implies a fair degree of self serving corruption. Just like all of the other candidates running for the mayors office.

This city is a mess and will be for a long time to come. I fear for DC!

Hey Glover Park,

Who said there are only 2 people running for mayor? You make it sound like a negative report on Cropp is automatically a positive for Fenty. What about Johns? Seriously, your candidate got caught being less than diplomatic and certainly not acting in the way a leader should. You would actually move out of the city if Fenty wins? Could you promise that here? I mean, really, you sound like the same people who whined that they'd leave the country if Bush won reelection. It's a childish assertion, at best.

We have a Mayor?

What about Marie Johns? When she cracks double-digits in a poll I will consider her an actual candidate. This is a two-person race no matter what you think.

Who cares if I promise to move out of the city in this space? The promise won't be worth the paper it's printed on (pun intended). But yes, I will move out of the city if Fenty is elected. I saw what happened with Barry and I refuse to live through it again.

"I ahve [sic] lived in DC all my life and plan to move out of the city if Fenty wins. All he wants to do is race-bait, antagonize business and pad his resume."

You mean you lived through Marion Barry? And now someone like Fenty is scaring you off?! Wow...

Thanks for fixing my typo...that REALLY put me in my place.

The difference between Fenty and Barry is that Fenty has a brain. Far more dangerous.

However, it is interesting that you didn't refute a single thing I said. Tell me everything I need to know.

I think Glover Park misspoke when he accused Fenty of race-baiting on the stadium deal. Are you sure you're not confusing him with Vincent Orange? For better or worse, Fenty barely uttered a word other than "no" during any of the stadium hearings.

No, the race-baiting and ignorance on the stadium were two different things.

However, Fenty said A LOT on the stadium. For instance, he railed on about how the money should be going to schools instead of the stadium. What he didn;t realize is that the schools get more money than they need and have excess space that is empty (per the WPost about five weeks ago). Further, the stadium tax is a one-time tax on businesses with grosses in excess of $4 million. In other words, no money was being shifted from schools to the stadium.

What all of this means is that Fenty wanted to make a spectacle of himself rather than do something responsible like learn about an issue.

Ask them no questions, they will tell you know lies.

Dear DC Native and Glover Park;

If you guys are not journalists; then do not judge them. They are just doing their job. You must focus on your real job and be good at it for a change.

Everyone,
This should really be a simple debate on who to vote for. I'll give everyone a breakdown of the candidates and what to expect from each.

Adrian Fenty - Young, charismatic politician who wants to appear to be "for the people"
Pros - He's young, energetic, and he sticks to what he believes in.
Cons - Not experienced, doesn't know business, and doesn't know how to compromise on issues he doesn't support (stadium)

Linda Cropp - Experienced DC Politician who wants DC to continue improving.
Pros - Very experienced, good business ties, has a reason to maintain the status quo
Cons - Tends to tell people what they want to hear (flip-flop), sometimes make bad suggestions, based on appeasing people (RFK Option for new Stadium)

Marie Johns - Proven businesswoman who thinks her business sense and ties can keep the city moving forward
Pros - Not a politican, has good business sense, not used to double talking
Cons - Not a politician, so you don't know what to expect, not a household name (yet)

Vincent Orange - Experienced Politician who does his research and knows business
Pros - Realizes that economic growth is key for improving DC
Cons - Sometimes makes bad political decisions (alligning with Marion Barry to publicly criticize the Lerners for using "token blacks")

Michael Brown - Son of Ron Brown
Pros - Son of Ron Brown, not afraid to speak about any issue
Cons - Not a household name, not much political experience

Glover Park is wrong - Fenty did not get his bar license lifted. His punishment was an admonition. I have read the Court of Appeals decision affirming that decision. An admonition basically means go and sin no more. It did not affect his bar license in any other way.

OK, so I was mistaken on Fenty and his bar license. However, no one has refuted anything else I've said.

Dear Glover Park,

Sorry to burst your bubble. You are not a bright one.

Glover Park, I agree that the stadium hoopla surrounding the tax is misplaced, as your explanation rings true. I will refute you that Fenty does not learn about issues and bring measured debate to the table. I dealt with Fenty in depth regarding a horrendous juvenile bill that was luckily defeated a few weeks ago. Fenty studied the history and consequences of such a measure and argued the position well before the Council, helping in its defeat. It was Cropp who spent no time understanding the issue and showed zero concern for the impact it would have on juveniles in this town. After that debate, Fenty won my vote.

Cropp presided over the School Board for, what, ten years, while DC schools continued their slide into hell.

She did little or nothing while DC suffered through the race-baiting Barry years.

She is the definition of status quo. And the status quo in DC is third-rate banana republic.

Some info from blogger DCEye on Fenty's run-in over his bar license. I don;t know about you, but the idea of this guy as Mayor scares me even more now.

The-DC-Eye said...
The Office of the Bar Counsel yesterday issued its lightest sanction, an informal admonition, to D.C. Council member Adrian M. Fenty for his failure to guard the assets of an elderly man he was assigned to protect six years ago.

Fenty's conduct in the case "reflected a disregard of certain ethical standards," Wallace Eugene Shipp Jr. wrote in a four-page letter delivered to Fenty's attorney. "In sum, the record reveals that you either were not aware of, or did not comply with, several rules and laws governing guardianship and conservatorship, and your actions fell below acceptable standards."

Although Fenty violated rules related to competence, diligence and respect for the administration of justice, Shipp wrote that his office settled on an informal admonition in part because Fenty had no prior disciplinary record, acknowledged his responsibility in the case and "cooperated fully" with the bar counsel's investigation. Fenty also repaid the estate of his ward, William Hardy Sr., "so that the ward was not harmed," Shipp wrote.

In the District, a violation of the rules of professional conduct can carry penalties ranging up to disbarment.

Fenty (D-Ward 4) said he will not challenge Shipp's ruling. His acceptance brings to a close a matter that had cast a shadow over his record as he enters the hotly contested 2006 race for mayor.

"I'm not going to make excuses," Fenty said. "It shouldn't have happened. It won't happen again. But it did happen, and when you make mistakes, you have to be willing to accept responsibility. . . .

"This puts this matter behind me. It's the lowest sanction they can give. It means there's no formal action taken against my license."

Fenty, 34, has not practiced law since he won election to the council in 2000 on a pledge to abandon all outside employment. Hardy's case was among the last he handled before his inauguration in January 2001.

The case dates to 1999, when Fenty was working as a clerk for the council's Education Committee, planning his first council race and accepting court appointments as a newly licensed attorney. That April, a judge appointed him to serve as guardian to Hardy, 88, a retired Navy worker who was allegedly being swindled by his granddaughter, court documents show.

Fenty neglected the case from the start, Shipp found. He failed to immediately inventory Hardy's assets. He submitted only one report detailing Hardy's condition and assets, although he was required to do so every six months. And when Fenty asked to be released from the case in 2000, he "failed to file an accounting . . . revealing the whereabouts of the ward's assets, as ordered by the Court."

When a new guardian, Kimberly Edley, took over, she asked the judge to appoint a special master to investigate Fenty's conduct, court records show. In 2001, the special master determined that more than $22,000 had disappeared from Hardy's bank account on Fenty's watch.

A judge later ordered Fenty to reimburse $15,000 to Hardy's estate, saying Fenty "made a series of errors that lead to both the improper withdrawal of funds by Mr. Hardy's family."

Fenty said that he paid $10,000 and that his attorneys recovered $5,000. An additional $7,000 was later determined to have been spent for Hardy's benefit.

Shipp declined to discuss the case, saying his findings were not yet public because Fenty had yet to formally accept the penalty. In general, an informal admonition is the bar counsel's "quietest form of yelling," Shipp said. "Basically, the subtext is, 'This didn't warrant us prosecuting you, but we expect you to do better in the future.' "

Hardy died in April, shortly after his 94th birthday. Edley, who was still serving as his legal guardian, would not comment on the bar counsel's decision.

So when does the Post editorial board plan to open its decision-making meetings to the public? Would be much more interesting and useful to the public than the City Council's boring breakfasts.

Glover:

I recall a 3 or 4 hour closed-door meeting I had with Cropp that began in her chambers, went out into the field to examine a site, collect and view evidence, and listen to first-hand accounts, and then ended back in her office.

Cropp specifically stated her position at the beginning of the meeting. It was simple, and very politic. Then, the material evidence and testimony we presented (based on government and documented professional records) painted an all-together more complex picture about government power and abuse of power. At the conclusion of the meeting, her stated position was word-for-word the same, and not at all responsive to our concerns.

This meeting was about a much-discussed and controversial issue of broad (and costly) public interest, and regards practices in an agency Cropp has direct oversight responsibility for. Months later, the head of that agency resigned (I hear they were forced out), but the practices in question continue unabated to this day. In addition, I would add that Cropp cited evidence gathered at this meeting as a partial reason hamstring proper and necessary activities by that agency, whose core mission most people, myself included, strongly support. People who follow the topic closely suspect big money played a part in Cropp's calculations.

This experience destroyed any confidence I had in Linda. She came to the meeting with a position. She stuck with that position in the face of abundant physical and documentary evidence of government malfeasance at great public expense. She made no apparent effort to address our concerns. And she cynically used our complaint for her own off-point purposes.

This experience forever turned me off to Cropp as someone I would turn to in need, or accept as a leader. I'm not so naïve as to expect to rely on any politician for all things, but a basic sense that our next mayor respects the public good should not be too much to ask.

I am reminded of the mid-seventies. There I was following Marion Barry around, shouting "Out with the old, in with the new." Barry hit my generation just like Fenty is attracting large numbers. What happened? 16 years of degradation until we hit Katrina level. Why? Barry had no experience. So, again, same scenario with different people. Fenty's experience a few more years on the Council, will prepare him to be a fabulous Mayor; not just yet. It takes a while to get back to a respectable level(after 16 years) as this Mayor and Council have done. I'm not taking any more risks. Our city is on the upward swing and I believe its future will be brighter under Cropp. As for Ms. Johns, I would like to see her appointed to take over an agency in the DC government and have the people get to know her. Marc Fisher has been on the Fenty express for sometime and his column was no surprise.

Cropp is a grandstanding, pandering diva. Fenty is a grandstanding, pandering amateur. Both of them are far more interested in making a name for themselves than they are in running a city, and neither of them holds a candle to Williams in terms of vision or innate common sense.

...and I don't care how much you "native DC residents" want to pat yourselves on the back for living (and voting) in a city while it elected a parade of crackheads, flim-flam men and amateur-hour losers to public office. Frankly, I respect the views of newer residents who clearly AREN'T responsible for (re)electing a crackhead as mayor. Nobody cares if you've lived here 50 years--as a group you people have screwed this place up royally...so spare us the "lifelong resident", self-congratulatory claptrap.

I'm voting for Marie Johns simply because she's not status quo. Whatever she might do in office, it certainly wouldn't be any worse than Fenty or Cropp.

Funny how in the mid-70's, after only having a real mayor since what, 1974?, you were shouting "out with the old", NWDC. I suppose, in retrospect, you were caught up in the times.

Contrast that with today: We have Cropp, a candidate that held many positions of great importance and is in-part responsible for much of the damage done during Barry's tenure, which you admit we are only now recovering from, and I really don't see the comparison...

You're worried Fenty may be a young Barry. But you've little to point to in that regard save your own fears/rhetoric.
I see Cropp as the thing that the young Barry became, and she's got the history to prove it.

Some things never change, you're still caught up in those times and a prisoner of the Barry era.

Why are we all debating this? I mean really...nothing in DC is going to change. Most politicians are still metaphorically no different than lapdancers. Teasing the electorate with grand plans of renewal, progress, and other BS terminology, knowing full well their own promises are empty. None of the candidates are going to do anything of particular importance if elected.

So why bother voting? Just pop in the latest dvd that day, right?

I wasn't planning on voting for her anyway so it doesn't matter to me what she does unless she wins, however one of my reasons for not voting for her is health.

(Now some may find this offensive but its honest, just like the cops statement regarding the GT robberies)

Cropp doesn't seem healthy...I don't see her walking the streets like most mayors, when a major issue may break out in a neighborhood. I see her sending an assistant on her behalf. I'm sure she doesn't excercise or we would see results today.

Honestly, I find her to be lazy but very smart behind the desk.

I don't think you've been in Washington very long. If you have, you may recall the previous Chairs of the Council, and the Council meetings. If you've been here at least 10 years, you will know what I'm talking about. To my knowledge, Linda was never Chairman of the Board of Education.
I'm sorry, I pay taxes and I have property here and things haven't been this good in a long time.

I like Mr. Fenty and Ms. Johns, but we do not need disruption in those areas that are finally beginning to work.

If you are relatively new to Washington, which roughly one third of the voters are, you can readily see that a lot needs to be done compared to where you came from. New candidates always seem to be the answer. I still maintain that we are in better shape than we have been for a long time and I feel that we will continue with Ms. Cropp.

She'll walk the streets when it serves her purposes. She seems to work like that.

Actually, Cropp did serve on the Board of Education, plus served as its president and vice president. Check the old DC Watch bio at http://www.dcwatch.com/archives/election98/cropp-2.htm.

With that background and even a most rudimentary knowledge of DC public schools, then I do not see how anyone can think DC is in better shape now in terms of education and treatment of its children. With Cropp at the helm and showing her failure there, I can only imagine what a disaster she would be as mayor.

Marc Fisher is a serial liar who does not let facts get in the way of his hate against Linda Cropp...Today on his live Post discussion he inaccurately blasted "Linda Cropp and the slim majority that nixed" the "open meetings" bill at the Council's legislative meeting this past Tuesday, when in fact Linda Cropp, who is a cosponsor of the bill, was part of the slim minority AGAINST the 7-6 vote to send the bill back to committee.

Fisher, and the editors that let him spew and spawn his venom, are entitled to their First Amendment right to be irresponsible, but can't the Post do better than this negatively divisive nimcompoop?

linda's vote wasnt needed to send it back. understand now?

To NWDC:

You clearly haven't done your homework on Linda's 30-year history. Also, as for things being good, people rightfully argue about that because it very much depends on where in DC one lives. I've been here a long time, have lived and owned property in several very different neighborhoods, and so I know that first-hand. Generally speaking, though, you are right. In many ways and in many places, DC is better off than it has been in nearly 40 years. But to note Cropp's part in the successes of the last 10 or so years while ignoring her part in the failures of the twenty years before that makes very little sense to me.

In any event, our resurgence follows the federal control-board micro-managing our budget and the election of an accountant mayor, both of which, by the way, were things people felt necessary while Cropp was in office. Our resurgence obviously also mirrors similar successes in many other major cities around the country, at least those that are lucky enough to have sustainable economic bases, and so generally follows a national trend toward renewed appreciation of urban living. A rising tide lifts all boats, right?

I'll grant that Linda certainly had a part in the past ten years, each of which I'll also grant has been better than the one before it. But Linda also played key roles in the twenty years before the last ten or so good ones (arbitrarily defined by me as the control board and post-control board era) and those twenty years were not ones we on balance should be proud of, and neither was Linda's performance in them. What has she done during all her thirty years that shows her abilities as a leader? The current school board structure? Making a horrible stadium deal for a (of course welcome) baseball team a little less bad? Proposing to further divide lines of authority on school accountability? Linda's a deal maker, a parliamentarian, not a leader.

When I consider Cropp, I'm looking at her past, my first-hand experience with her in the present, and who she's backed by and surrounds herself with to get a sense of a future with her.

I've watched this closely. My advice to you would be not to let your fear of repeating the past keep you from moving forward. Tony started the job of cleaning house of Barry-cronies. Linda's simply not the one to finish it.

Not to mention, Linda's husband is a long-time Barry crony. We need to cut bait and make a change - Marie Johns for Mayor!

You have to love the Johns supporters for their passion. They may not have any connection to reality, but they do have passion.

Fenty isn't the one to finish the job either. While I supported him in his run for Council person, he clearly is not experienced enough to finish the progress. I'm willing to give it all careful thought and vote for one of the candidates in the running for the job. As far as Dwight Cropp being a Barry crony, who wasn't in Barry's first run? He has written many articles in the editorial section of the Washington Post since the 5th year of Marion Barry's tenure opposing his governance.

Frankly, I feel that good people out there who can help to repair the city simply will not work for Fenty.

Also, bear in mind, NW Washington is not just Ward 3.

Gimme a break. If Fenty does anything it's get the job done. And he's got the leadership and vision to administer the city in a smart way, focused and efficient. Won't work for him? That's just ridiculous.

Cropp has spent 30 years presiding over -- and causing -- the inefficiencies in this city, particularly in our schools. She needs to step aside for someone who will get the job done.

To NWDC:

For openers, I'm glad we agree that the job of rooting out the Barry era patronage machine needs to be finished. That's one of my biggest concerns and, whatever her skills, that need cements Cropp's position near the bottom of my list.

I suppose there are good people who would (rather) not work for Fenty. I know quite a few well-known and highly regarded people who would prefer not to work for Cropp, too. Fenty is fresh, and sometimes more strong-headed than I'd prefer, but the activists in the neighborhoods I know and most respect agree that, on balance, his vision is the best out there. That's what first interested me, aside from his strong reputation for constituent service. That tells me he's caring and energetic. Anyway, if you haven't read the policy papers on his website, I'd encourage you to do so, he stands a very good chance of winning.

I don't understand your Ward 3 remark.

It appears that Marc Fisher didnot get the real story from the reporter that he quoted. According to the Examiner and the Diane Rheme show, the young reporder was recording the meeting without notifying the council. Other Council members will attest to it and Adrian, himself, knew the true story but didnot clarify it. He did today on the show.

Whether you like a candidate or not, truth should be substantiated before blatently making an accusation.

NWDC:

What difference does it make whether or not a recorder is in plain sight or not? After all, if meetings are open to the public, they are a matter of public record.

This is an instance where I will fault close to the entirety of government. Pretty much everyone wants to appear to support open and transparent government process, but practically no one wants that process applied to their own business. But Linda does seem more vehement (and less tactful) than others about this.

It's a matter of public trust. I can see how open government meetings might be inconvenient, but we clearly need for them to be open and on the record. We've got quite a history, much of it recent, of insider, no-bid, and self-dealing to overcome and move beyond.

Still a Linda fan, eh?

BTW, NWDC:
I think maybe you meant Kojo and Jonetta, not Diane Rehm.

Not one person that I have read (including Marc Fisher, especially) seems to have even a basic sense of how public legislative policy is REALLY made. And, guess what, it is made just the way the very effective Linda Cropp "guides it and makes it." Legislation and public policy are always matters of "trading" "compromising" "giving up this for getting that"...that's how it is done folks...whether we are talking Lincoln, Nebraska or Washington, DC. And guess what, without the ability to make these "deals" (I know that is a dirty word for the purist here...but that IS how it's done) without always having to be in the presence of "the media" (those self righteous bearers of the "public interest")very little public policy and legislation would be formulated. So ease up on Linda Cropp, and the council, and accept that for the last eight years we have had a council that increasingly works together in an effective manner and that this has moved the city ahead well. Trust me, having a bunch of Washington Post writers...Bernstein/Woodward wannabes "watching" DC Council sessions will NOT improve the quality of public debate or legislative decision making.

Wow, I am so pleased that there is actual discussion and debate about the Mayoral race. Like other commenters I am very disappointed with the "local" news affiliates. They gloss over DC news and only get "in depth" when there is a murder or another Barry scandal.

My choice is MARIE JOHNS. As a new resident watching Cropp's dealings with baseball was shocking and I knew she was not on the up and up. Simply put Fenty just did not do anything for me. Marie, on the other hand, is real and is not used to "double talk." Dealing with white men and business you can't be wishy-washy. Do what you say you are going to do.

For those that "pay attention" to polls, remember that name recognition and money don't necessarily equate to votes. Pay attention to the people, not the polls. TEAM MARIE VICTORY 9/12/06!