Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The confusing controversies involving Parks and Recreation

If you don't follow District politics closely, you might not be aware of an unfolding feud between Mayor Fenty and the D.C. Council. Animosity between the two branches of city government has been growing for some time, but has recently erupted over issues involving parks and recreation. The first issue was the Council's rejection of Ximena Hartsock as Director of the District Department of Parks and Recreation. The second issue is $82 million in Parks and Recreation contracts that went unapproved by the Council. For those who have been out of the loop, here's a summary of the whole Hartsock controversy. Tomorrow I'll discuss the contracts question.

To understand what's happening, let us rewind back to April of this year when Ximena Hartsock took over as Acting Director of DPR. Hartsock replaced Clark Ray, who had worked for President Clinton and D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams. Ray was confirmed 13-0 by the Council to serve as DPR Director. Ray's firing was unexpected, but came amid a controversy surrounding Fenty and his children. In February, the DPR Athletics Director was fired 10 days after he informed Ray of complaints about Fenty's sons. Michael Williams expressed concern that Fenty's children were playing in the wrong youth basketball league. Fenty's twin sons were enrolled in the Pee Wee league, for children aged 6-8. The boys turned 9 in March, and as such were supposed to be in Pony league. Williams believed Fenty's sons received special treatment in being allowed to remain in Pee Wee. Williams was fired citing budget concerns. In April, Williams sued the District for $5 million citing wrongful termination. Fenty and Ray were named in the lawsuit. A few weeks later, Ray was fired. It's unclear the specific circumstances around Ray's departure, but presently Ray is running for a D.C. at-large Council seat.



Interim DPR Director Ximena Hartsock

Hartsock had previously served as principal of Ross Elementary, as well as deputy chief of Technology and Learning with the D.C. Schools. In that role. Hartsock oversaw summer school, afternoon and weekend programs. Fenty said he wanted someone in DPR with an emphasis on programming. The mayor did not interview any other candidates for the position.

The Council's vote on Hartsock is increasingly looking like a referendum on Fenty's administration. During the Council hearings prior to the vote, things turned a bit nasty. Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) asserted that Hartsock could not be an effective DPR Director because she couldn't understand the needs of minorities in the District, and as a woman she couldn't understand sports. When the Council voted 7-5 to reject Hartsock, the official reasons ranged from flouting of the law to Hartsock's lack of qualifications. The main controversy surrounded Fenty's privatization of childcare services, which resulted in 160 layoffs. The Council had repeatedly passed legislation to block the layoffs, which they said Hartsock ignored. It came down to a matter of Fenty versus the Council, and Hartsock was caught in the middle. The Washington Post published an editorial rebuking the Council's treatment of Hartsock during the hearings, but it was not enough to sway the vote. It would later come out that D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee advocated on behalf of Hartsock to the Post's editorial board.

In the wake of Hartsock's rejection, District AG Peter Nickles rebuked the Council for an "outrageous" vote. He urged the Latino community to consider Hartsock's treatment. It should be noted that Hartsock is Chilean-born and not a U.S. citizen. The vote also marked the first time in memory that the Council rejected a mayoral appointment. It was clearly a rebuke of Fenty.

Presently, Hartsock is still in charge at DPR. Fenty has changed her official title from Acting Director to Interim Director. The title change gives Hartsock another 180 days in her position, though after that her tenure is finished. In response to this title change, yet another controversy has erupted. Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) remarked the whole affair resembled "a lawless administration." AG Peter Nickles remarked that Cheh had "no idea what she's talking about," characterizing her comments as "stupid" and referring to her as "an angry woman."

In response to this, Councilmember Kwame Brown (D-At Large) demanded an apology from Nickles for his remarks. Brown made no such demand from his colleague Marion Barry for the sexist and racist remarks directed at Hartsock.

This has devolved into quite a mess with no one holding any sort of moral high ground. Members of the Council treated Hartsock with a lack of respect, and now the Council is feeling a backlash. Cheh certainly didn't deserve the sexist comments from Nickles, but is anyone surprised? This is D.C. politics and people play dirty. It's not an excuse, but let's not be shocked about any of this.

The real question is what's driving all of this? Does the $82 million in improper Parks and Recreation contracts have anything to do with this? Why is the Council deciding to stand it's ground now, and about DPR? And finally, how will all of this play into the 2010 elections? It's going to be an exciting (and also likely, depressing) ride into next year.
by Dave Stroup, filed under City Hall at 9:00AM

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