Fenty: Populist Or Something Else?

WASHINGTON -- When Neil Richardson joined Team Fenty to work on the mayoral campaign, it was with a glimmer in his eye and the enthusiasm of young man intent on saving the world, or at least the city.

Now, Mayor Adrian Fenty's former Deputy Chief of Staff has quit and is questioning whether Fenty is the populist he portrays himself as, or if he's something else.

"I think a lot of people are apprehensive and anxious -- you know, have a lot of anxiety about how their voice is being heard and incorporated in the changes that are happening. We do live in a democracy and it's not a dictatorship between the election and the next election."

It's not the first time Fenty has been accused of being a lone wolf when it comes to important decisions.

When Fenty excluded the City Council in his decision making process on school closings, Councilmember Jim Graham told Fenty, "I voted for school change, not an autocracy."

Richardson is the latest member of the Fenty administration to leave out of frustration. The former senior staffer submitted his resignation Thursday afternoon, effective Friday.

The resignation comes just weeks after Fenty's Attorney General Linda Singer quit. Sources close to Singer say she quit because Fenty's General Counsel, Peter Nickles, was over stepping his authority.

Last April, Merrit Drucker, Fenty's Director of Community Services and Relations quit. He told the Washington City Paper, "I was not going to be a toothless lapdog."

Richardson tells WTOP he grew increasingly frustrated with being shut out of Mayor Adrian Fenty's decision making process, and he says he's not alone.

"I think as I listen to the folks in the neighborhoods and I talk to people in the Wilson Building and other government buildings, I think there is a growing frustration that there's one single voice making all the decisions in the city. I don't think that's what people had in mind when they elected Mayor Fenty."

Richardson had started out as one of Fenty's top advisers both on the campaign and in City Hall. His desk was just a few steps from the mayor's. A few months ago Richardson was unceremoniously deployed to another job, in another building.

In his resignation letter, Richardson wrote:

"I was disappointed in my reassignment to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education and ServeDC to create an initiative to recruit, train and track volunteers in public schools. While this initiative is critical for the success of our school reform, I do not feel that there is adequate commitment from District government to achieve desired outcomes. The circumstances leading to the change in my responsibilities evolved with no communication from you and I have been provided no explanation regarding my future work status. This transfer was made without my consent or input."

Richardson says things have changed since Fenty took office a year ago.

"I think there were a lot of folks who were expecting this populist young mayor to work very closely with public to make decisions, very close with his former colleagues on the Council and closely with his senior staff, some of whom like myself who had served with him on the campaign. Unfortunately over time I saw less and less interest in hearing new ideas and different ideas."

Fenty's spokesperson Carrie Brooks would only say, "We wish Neil Richardson well."

Richardson is not a political novice. He worked for Mayor Tony Williams before joining Fenty. When Richardson left the Williams Administration in 2005 he wrote an editorial for the Washington Post criticizing Williams for not having "an ability to connect and unite residents."

Richardson says Fenty is not living up to campaign promises to work with the City Council and to run a transparent administration.

"I think that over the course of the administration, after the first five or six months, there was a lot of enthusiasm because we had in the beginning of the administration made a committment to work closely with the Council. When we brought the Council up to New York to visit with Chancellor Kline and Mayor Bloomberg, I felt like we were beginning a great relationship working with the Council to improve the city using best practices we picked up in other places. Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened."

That feeling has been echoed by several City Councilmembers.

When Fenty announced his plans to close several public schools without consulting the Council, Council Chair Vince Gray told Fenty, "We are constantly finding ourselves in reaction mode." He added, "That is anti-collaboration. We didn't play any role."

(Copyright 2008 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)