How Adrian Fenty lost his reelection bid for D.C. mayor

[rpannier]

One afternoon in late June, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's political advisers invited their boss to a downtown conference room to report an unsettling development: Focus groups commissioned by the campaign were saying that Fenty's leadership style was offensive and that he was oblivious to constituents' concerns.

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"I'm proud of my record," Fenty shot back, according to Lindenfeld and two others present at the meeting. The mayor stood and walked out.

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Still, within his inner circle, concerns arose that a long string of decisions that threatened to alienate voters, such as the mayor's unannounced vacation in Dubai that was paid for by a foreign government; his refusal to share Washington Nationals baseball tickets with the council; and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's dismissal of hundreds of teachers and dozens of principals for what she said was poor performance. Allegations that the mayor's fraternity brothers had gotten lucrative city contracts prompted the council to sponsor a special investigation and hold months of public hearings.

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That night, four people were killed and five wounded in shootings on South Capitol Street, the deadliest spasm of violence in the city in years. The mayor didn't show up to the crime scene until 24 hours later, his arrival prompting boos from the crowd and a renewed wave of complaints that he was disconnected.

Where had Fenty been? Initially, he and his aides were vague about his whereabouts, but then they confirmed that he had been on a family vacation in Jamaica. During an interview Saturday, the mayor amended the story to say that after Jamaica, he had taken his two sons to a tennis tournament in Florida, which is where he was when he learned of the shootings.

link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/15/AR2010091500834.html?nav=hcmoduletmv&sid=ST2010091500843