The Attributions of Leadership
At a breakfast fundraiser for the Ward 5 constituent services fund this morning, Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) complimented council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D-Ward 5) with a quote he attributed to President Abraham Lincoln: "A leader will take people where they want to go. A great leader will take them where they need to go," said Williams.
Actually, it is unclear who said it. The quote is sometimes attributed to Lincoln, but mostly attributed to former First Lady Rossalyn Carter. But given the Ward 5 rep's tireless boosterism of D.C. Emancipation Day, the April 16 city holiday (this year April 17 because the actual holiday falls on a Sunday) celebrating Lincoln's liberation of slaves in the District, it's easy to associate Lincoln and Orange.
Williams also outlined where he and the District needed to go in the final eight months of his leadership of the District. He told the crowd of 30 munching on scrambled eggs and bacon that he would focus on three things: the development of the old convention center property, the building of a new central library on that property, and the management and governance of the new ballpark site.
An interesting omission to the mayor's list: the National Capital Medical Center, the $400 million plus hospital proposed by the Williams administration and Howard University that city officials have been stumping at community meetings all over the city.
Elissa Silverman
By Marcia Slacum Greene |
March 16, 2006; 2:54 PM ET
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Posted by: dupont | March 16, 2006 04:20 PM
Why is anyone surprised. As "Marco Polo" Williams leaves on another trip, the real Mayor continues to run the city. Ask Robert Bobb what his priorities are and you will know what will be done during the next 9 months.
Posted by: DC Resident | March 16, 2006 05:13 PM
And tops on Bobb's list... NCMC. The Mayor has never been a driving force on the issue, but Bobb's banking on it hard.
Posted by: sa | March 16, 2006 05:43 PM
I saw that Emancipation Day was mentioned. Isn't that a good thing?
Posted by: Concerned?? | March 16, 2006 08:22 PM
Mayor Williams do the right thing now, endorse Mr Orange for mayor, hand down your legacy, and take your next step in history. We don't need all this Cropp.
See the light
Posted by: See the light | March 18, 2006 07:59 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
More interesting even than Ms. Silverman reports.
As the Mayor embarks on his next Junket to Africa, he is telling the citizens that his focus will be a baseball stadium, a new downtown deveopment and a new library on that downtown development site. What happened to the neighborhoods?
Once again the Mayor totally neglects the real needs of the citizens of the District for education, healthcare, and basic city services. What about his grandiose plans laid out in his last State of the City speech with its focus on people and neighborhoods. What about the people living in Sersum Corda. What about the children living in Oak Hill and the poor who still have no health care. What about those who still can't get a response from the Mayor's call center for basic services.
Ms. Silverman asks about the hospital, but the Mayor even left out a long time downtown project that he has been touting since his last campaign. It is one that if it doesn't get built could cost the city a lot of money. It is the convention center hotel that the Mayor promised back in his last election campaign. This hotel will ensure the success of the Convention Center for years to come. Has he forgotten that many of the contracts signed for the Center are based on having a new hotel and those groups are entitled to cancel if that hotel is not built.
There are so many things that the Mayor could focus on in his last nine months in office that would leave a real legacy for this city it is a shame he can think of only three of which none will be anywhere near completion while he is in office anyway.