DCentric

We usually serve links in the morning, but after yesterday’s historic primary, we’d be remiss if we didn’t round up the best post-mortems we’ve seen. Today, all anyone can talk about is, “What happened to Adrian Fenty?” The five features below have answers. The first article, from the Washington Post, is excellent– if you can only read one, that’s my pick.

How Adrian Fenty lost his reelection bid for D.C. mayor “…the story of a mayor who misread an electorate he was sure he knew better than anyone, who ignored advisers’ early warnings that key constituencies were abandoning him, who shut out confidantes who told him what he did not want to hear and who began to listen only when the race was all but lost.” (The Washington Post)

Adrian Fenty loses D.C. mayoral primary: Why his re-election bid failed “The price that Fenty was paying for all of those recreation centers, for all of the ribbon-cuttings, for all of the education initiatives, was the most powerful block of voters in town.No one could argue that he’d neglected black neighborhoods, but in the end, that was almost the point: Black neighborhoods, in many instances, didn’t want to see the brand of change Fenty was providing. Asked about the sparkling Deanwood Recreation Center, a Ward 7 resident quoted in the Washington Examiner said, “Fenty is getting ready for white people moving into the community.”" (tbd.com)

Post-Election Analysis: It’s Not The End of The District “Finally, reform just doesn’t turn back on itself, as Fenty tried to say it would. Over the last 12 years, each mayor has left a foundation upon which his successor has built. We can all marvel at what Fenty has done in four years, but not much of it would have been possible without Mayor Anthony Williams. Gray will enter office in uncertain economic times — but also with many of the toughest decisions already made for him. Reforms gain momentum and evolve — and even if he wanted to, Gray wouldn’t simply be able to stop the city and throw it into reverse. ” (DCist)

How Adrian Fenty Lost the Black Vote; How Cory Booker May Lose the Black Vote “”…blacks tend to be more dependent on government jobs because of discrimination in the private sector. “People understandably want their needs to be addressed.” Fenty’s appointment of non-blacks to major cabinet positions, terminations of longtime black government workers and teachers, and a failure to meet with civil rights icon Dorothy Height and poet Maya Angelou are among the slights that have turned off a majority of African-American voters.” (The Root)

Michelle Rhee Might Leave Washington, D.C. What Would It Mean For The City’s Schools? “…D.C. without Rhee is, in many ways, a scary thought. Her departure could affect more than the schools; it could influence the entire city. “You can’t have a middle class without a good school system. They will not live in a city with terrible public schools,” Carey says. “To the extent that the vision for the District is a racially and economically diverse one, I think having a school system on an upswing is a big part of that.”” (tnr.com)