Harry Jaffe, The Examiner
2008-03-12 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

The mud wrestling match between the D.C. Council and Mayor Adrian Fenty could soon turn into bare-knuckle fisticuffs. On one side, we have the extremely fit young mayor, fortified by his citywide mandate. When backed into a corner or merely shadowboxing through his normal stump speech, he will remind us that he won all 142 precincts in his 2006 election.

Bam!

In the other corner we have mild-mannered Council Chairman Vincent Gray, backed by his 12 alleged colleagues. But do they have his back? I think not.

Wham!

In Fenty’s first year in office, he has had his way with the council in each round. Every boxing cliche fits: He’s had them on the ropes, down for the count, seeing stars.

Fenty wants to take over the schools. Council hands over control. Council requires the mayor to notify them when he’s hiring a chancellor. He ignores them. They whimper and whine – and roll over.

Fenty wants to give his Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee the power to fire central office bureaucrats at will. The council protests. Ducks and covers. And votes to give her control.

Fenty names Peter Nickles, his general counsel, the de facto attorney general. Nickles is neither vetted by the council nor living in the District; both are requirements of the position. The council protests but allows Nickles to become attorney general; he then uses his legal agency to block every council request and delivers brutal uppercuts in every clinch.

None of this sits well with the 13 council members. They grouse behind closed doors. They tell me, off the record, that Fenty and his people are young and arrogant. That they don’t compromise, or consult, or listen. “It’s their way or the highway,” one council member told me.

Like Fenty, Vince Gray is also a rookie in the game of political infighting. He is wise and smart and collegial. He has the best interests of the city in mind. He wants to cooperate and collaborate. All are great qualities – but none will help him enforce the kind of discipline required to go toe-to-toe with a popular mayor.

The council’s glass jaw was on full display during the three rounds it took to pass the “Sick and Safe” bill, designed to guarantee workers the right to paid sick leave. Pressured by business interests, Gray agreed to table the bill when it first came to full committee. He counted his votes and figured he had the seven-vote majority to kill it. But when the votes were counted, he lost 11-2.

A brutal council chairman would have applied the stick of patronage and contracts to beat his majority back into shape. Gray compromised and cajoled. And left hard-nosed observers wondering if he could be trusted to deliver a majority.

The next bout will feature Fenty against Gray’s council fighting over the city budget. Money and power will be at stake in every round.

Things could get interesting – if Vince Gray can control his team.