By now, you’re probably well aware of all the scandals that erupted out of the Wilson Building: pricey SUVs, dubious hiring practices, and of course, Sulaimon Brown. The question going forward – what does it all mean? While the scandals themselves were relatively minor (at least no one embezzled $50 million from the city’s coffers) the reputation of city hall took a hit that may take a long time to recover. To make sense of what happened and what it all means let us draw upon the wise philosopher of the baseball diamond, Yogi Berra.

Here, in no particular order, are some of Yogi’s greatest malapropisms truths.

“Even Napoleon had his Watergate.”

How does Council Chairman Kwame Brown recover from this Navigator story? There were already questions swirling around Brown about his personal finances. And now this.

“I wish I had an answer to that because I’m tired of answering that question.”

This is the real head scratcher from last week. How was Sulaimon Brown ever hired in the first place. It’s not like Mayor Gray did not know who he was or that he would be a major liability — Gray was next to him at countless mayoral forums! No one has adequately explained why Brown was hired into the city’s most complex and perhaps important agency, the Department of Health Care Finance.

“It’s like deja-vu, all over again.”

Council Members squabbling over free tickets. Gee, I swear I’ve heard this one before.

“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there. “

What is Mayor Gray’s signature issue? Fenty had education reform, what is Gray hoping to achieve. And ‘One City” doesn’t count! What are some concrete legislative goals for Council Chair Brown? The quickest way to put these scandals in the rearview is to be pro-active and change the narrative.

“It gets late awfully early around here.”

Unfortunately – a pretty bad narrative is starting to cement around the council chair and the mayor’s administration. The honeymoon for both men is definitely over. Fortunately, as Yogi once said…

“It ain’t over till its over.”

*Credit to Loose Lips or Mike Debonis for first co-opting the title of Judith Viorst’s book