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Colbert I. KingColumnist|AddFollowJanuary 5, 2024 at 5:28 p.m. ESTThe D.C. flag hangs at the John Wilson Building that houses the offices of the mayor and D.C. Council in 2019. (Marlena Sloss/The Washington Post)Listen5 minShareComment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave
As the new year begins, Post Opinions columnists are writing about the biggest questions on their beats for 2024 and beyond.
Let’s get one issue out of the way. The question is not whether D.C. residents should have control over their own affairs. The Home Rule Act gives the mayor and 13-member D.C. Council limited authority to run the city with municipal powers comparable to those of other cities.
Need something to talk about? Text us for thought-provoking opinions that can break any awkward silence.ArrowRightYes, Congress reviews all measures passed by the council. And, yes, District residents lack voting representation in Congress. The right to elect their own local leaders, however, is unquestioned.
At issue is whether today’s elected leaders are up to the job of governing this city.
With two at-large council seats and four ward seats (2, 4, 7 and 8) at stake, election year 2024 gives D.C. voters a chance to answer that question.
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Without question, elected leaders confront an array of long-festering problems.
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On the mayor and council’s watch, 2023 ended with 274 homicide victims, which was the city’s highest annual toll in a quarter-century — giving D.C. one of the highest per capita murder rates among major U.S. cities.
As reported by The Post, 19 people under 18 were killed in 2023; two of those were infants. “Sixteen were ages 13 to 17. Another was 10. Meanwhile, the arrest rate for homicides was just above 47 percent, the lowest in at least 16 years,” The Post reported.
City hall, take a bow.
As the District was getting swallowed by crime in recent years, the D.C. Housing Authority descended into a mess so disgraceful that inspecting U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials issued a sweeping report in 2022 accusing the city of failing to provide “decent, safe, and sanitary” housing for residents. An embarrassed Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) was forced to reorganize DCHA leadership out of existence, installing a new leadership team of untested quality.
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The council stood by and groused.
This year, as in years past, the city is home to plenty of people experiencing homelessness, which is evident if you wander along Rock Creek Parkway, travel overpasses or come across many once-empty spaces dotting the city. The unhoused draw scant attention from the city, unless a headline-grabbing incident involving an encampment comes into view. That’s when city clearance teams swing into action, calling the situation a matter of safety for those living in tents. Bowser has said, “What we’re doing is insisting people get connected to the services that we know work.” However, in a moment of unexpected candor, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage allowed that the city can’t really deal with the problem because there is a “dearth of case managers” to provide the services that Bowser touts.
And as this human debacle unfolds, council members can be seen standing on the sidelines, wringing their hands, unhelpfully moaning about the shame of it all.
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But what should you expect from city leaders who watch as the District racks up nearly 400 opioid-related deaths per year — “contributing to the third highest mortality rate in the country,” as Howard University Hospital reported. Turnage and lawmakers have steadfastly ignored warnings and advice from noted D.C. addiction medicine specialist Edwin Chapman, just as they have given short shrift to problems of the unhoused.
But that doesn’t stop the mayor and council from having their confetti moments. They toss out public dollars in the name of every problem known to mankind — most strikingly, solving gun violence.
Since 2021, $2.6 million in mostly $5,000 “mini-grants” and $15,000 in “mini-plus grants” have been awarded to individuals and community organizations under something called Building Blocks D.C.
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An additional $1.1 million in Safe Commercial Corridor grants will be awarded to people to invest in activities such as “relationship-building with residents, workers, businesses, and regular visitors.”
Keep in mind the harrowing crime statistics when I tell you city leaders have approved more than $30 million for the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement to fund line items such as: violence intervention, housing assistance for “at-risk” individuals involved in violence-reduction work and money for six new ONSE vehicles to match the six vehicles it already has.
The District also approved more than $11 million to support the office of deputy mayor for public safety and justice, which will “develop and lead interagency public safety initiatives that improve the quality of life in the District.” Goody goody, can’t wait.
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And all that spending of public dollars doesn’t include the nearly $40 million in grants awarded to create restaurants and food service providers (e.g., a bar and grill, a pub and a deli serving “traditional and classic sandwiches”) and a scheme to direct $1.2 billion in city contracts to local businesses — even as the city is short on well-trained teachers, police officers and social workers and is fiddling around with an academic performance gap that will hold back Black children for years to come.
Does the city’s elected leadership ever ask: What are the voters getting for their money?
Are they capable of governing this city?
Voters do the hiring and firing. That’s why we have elections.
This year will tell the story.
And more to come on candidates and incumbents.
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As the new year begins, Post Opinions columnists are writing about the biggest questions on their beats for 2024 and beyond.
Let’s get one issue out of the way. The question is not whether D.C. residents should have control over their own affairs. The Home Rule Act gives the mayor and 13-member D.C. Council limited authority to run the city with municipal powers comparable to those of other cities.
Yes, Congress reviews all measures passed by the council. And, yes, District residents lack voting representation in Congress. The right to elect their own local leaders, however, is unquestioned.
At issue is whether today’s elected leaders are up to the job of governing this city.
With two at-large council seats and four ward seats (2, 4, 7 and 8) at stake, election year 2024 gives D.C. voters a chance to answer that question.
Without question, elected leaders confront an array of long-festering problems.
On the mayor and council’s watch, 2023 ended with 274 homicide victims, which was the city’s highest annual toll in a quarter-century — giving D.C. one of the highest per capita murder rates among major U.S. cities.
As reported by The Post, 19 people under 18 were killed in 2023; two of those were infants. “Sixteen were ages 13 to 17. Another was 10. Meanwhile, the arrest rate for homicides was just above 47 percent, the lowest in at least 16 years,” The Post reported.
City hall, take a bow.
As the District was getting swallowed by crime in recent years, the D.C. Housing Authority descended into a mess so disgraceful that inspecting U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials issued a sweeping report in 2022 accusing the city of failing to provide “decent, safe, and sanitary” housing for residents. An embarrassed Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) was forced to reorganize DCHA leadership out of existence, installing a new leadership team of untested quality.
The council stood by and groused.
This year, as in years past, the city is home to plenty of people experiencing homelessness, which is evident if you wander along Rock Creek Parkway, travel overpasses or come across many once-empty spaces dotting the city. The unhoused draw scant attention from the city, unless a headline-grabbing incident involving an encampment comes into view. That’s when city clearance teams swing into action, calling the situation a matter of safety for those living in tents. Bowser has said, “What we’re doing is insisting people get connected to the services that we know work.” However, in a moment of unexpected candor, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage allowed that the city can’t really deal with the problem because there is a “dearth of case managers” to provide the services that Bowser touts.
And as this human debacle unfolds, council members can be seen standing on the sidelines, wringing their hands, unhelpfully moaning about the shame of it all.
But what should you expect from city leaders who watch as the District racks up nearly 400 opioid-related deaths per year — “contributing to the third highest mortality rate in the country,” as Howard University Hospital reported. Turnage and lawmakers have steadfastly ignored warnings and advice from noted D.C. addiction medicine specialist Edwin Chapman, just as they have given short shrift to problems of the unhoused.
But that doesn’t stop the mayor and council from having their confetti moments. They toss out public dollars in the name of every problem known to mankind — most strikingly, solving gun violence.
Since 2021, $2.6 million in mostly $5,000 “mini-grants” and $15,000 in “mini-plus grants” have been awarded to individuals and community organizations under something called Building Blocks D.C.
An additional $1.1 million in Safe Commercial Corridor grants will be awarded to people to invest in activities such as “relationship-building with residents, workers, businesses, and regular visitors.”
Keep in mind the harrowing crime statistics when I tell you city leaders have approved more than $30 million for the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement to fund line items such as: violence intervention, housing assistance for “at-risk” individuals involved in violence-reduction work and money for six new ONSE vehicles to match the six vehicles it already has.
The District also approved more than $11 million to support the office of deputy mayor for public safety and justice, which will “develop and lead interagency public safety initiatives that improve the quality of life in the District.” Goody goody, can’t wait.
And all that spending of public dollars doesn’t include the nearly $40 million in grants awarded to create restaurants and food service providers (e.g., a bar and grill, a pub and a deli serving “traditional and classic sandwiches”) and a scheme to direct $1.2 billion in city contracts to local businesses — even as the city is short on well-trained teachers, police officers and social workers and is fiddling around with an academic performance gap that will hold back Black children for years to come.
Does the city’s elected leadership ever ask: What are the voters getting for their money?
Are they capable of governing this city?
Voters do the hiring and firing. That’s why we have elections.
This year will tell the story.
And more to come on candidates and incumbents.
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