Mayor Williams Will Not Seek Third Term

WASHINGTON - When he leaves office in 2007, the District of Columbia will have more wealth, less crime and a professional baseball team. But what Mayor Anthony A. Williams said he is most proud of is improving the respect and recognition of the nation's capital around the world.

The mayor on Thursday ended months of speculation by revealing he will not run for a third term next year. Wearing his trademark bow tie, he made the announcement at the same recreation center where in 1998 he launched his first campaign.

"It's time for a change. It's time for me to begin a new challenge in my life," Williams told supporters.

Williams, 54, said he does not know what is next for him after a job he called the "toughest challenge" he ever had. But the man who came to the D.C. government in 1995 as its chief financial officer said he has always had an interest in finance and development.

"I'm always available to help the city if my services are needed in some capacity," Williams later told The Associated Press in an interview. He said he could see himself helping another mayor, the same way the late Mayor Walter Washington mentored him.

But he ruled out a return to politics.

"I wouldn't want to be on City Council or Congress," Williams said.

He admits it was a tough decision because he still sees an enormous amount of work to be done, including fixing a crumbling school system and gaining full congressional voting rights for city residents.

Williams lamented that the race for City Hall began so early. The Democratic primary is not until Sept. 12, 2006, but already there are five candidates. The first, Councilman Adrian Fenty, announced he was running on June 1. Williams declined to say who he will support, but did spell out the qualities needed.

"Generally, they need to have a coherent vision, an ability to execute it, and a coalition to make that happen," he said.

One candidate, Council Chair Linda Cropp, greeted Williams' decision as good news for her own campaign. She said she's heard from Williams supporters who have said they'd back her if the mayor does not enter the race.

"There is a large group of people that will come to this campaign, so in that sense it will be helpful," she said.

Cropp praised the mayor for balancing the books and earning the respect of businesses, other municipalities and the federal government. But she said those advances haven't benefited all Washington residents equally, and that now it's time for a new mayor - like herself - "to move it to the next level."

Fenty also lauded Williams' accomplishments, but said more needed to be done.

"There's a time for a new person to come in with a new set of eyes and new ways of looking at problems," he said.

Councilman Vincent Orange, businesswoman Marie Johns and lobbyist Michael Brown are also running.

Christopher Arterton, dean of George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, called Williams' decision not to run a "quit while you're ahead scenario."

The city underwent a big change over the past seven years, he said, as its real-estate market boomed and residents started flowing back into its borders. And he said Williams was justified in taking credit.

"The city got its financial house in order," Arterton said.

Williams' efforts were concentrated in downtown Washington, which the mayor described as "a ghost town, a place people feared in the dark" when he took office. Arterton said some neighborhoods didn't see city services improve to the same degree, but downtown development also enriched outlying neighborhoods, like the area stretching from outer Capitol Hill to RFK Stadium.

"This is sort of a 'rising tide lifts all boats phenomenon,"' Arterton said. "Some things can be criticized, but, on the whole, the city is vastly better than it was ten years ago."

Even a two-time foe had praise.

"I do believe he helped move our city forward and I'm grateful for that," said Councilwoman Carol Schwartz, a Republican who ran against Williams in 1998 and 2002.

One person who had little to say was legendary Mayor Marion Barry. When Barry - finishing a fourth term following a drug conviction - decided not to run again, it paved the way for Williams, who appeared to be taking shots at Barry in Thursday's speech.

"City services like garbage pickup and street paving were abysmal. Potholes were unfilled. DMV was long on lines, short on service," Williams said of the city he inherited in 1999.

"It's the mayor's decision...which doesn't affect me," Barry - now a councilman - said in a statement read by his spokeswoman.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)