Do government deals with developers have to be one-sided?

I still find it hard to believe that Harry Jaffe, an editor for Washingtonian Magazine and a weekly columnist for the Examiner, is also the co-author of Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C., 1964 - 1994, which is a great dissection of Washington's not that long ago decline. While not referencing the Growth Machine thesis of Harvey Molotch, I think the book is a great case study of the thesis, that local elites are organized around a Growth-Pro Development agenda, because that is the primary source of local revenues. But you never find this perspective reflected in Jaffe's writings--it has been suggested and it makes perfect sense that the hard-hitting analysis was provided by Tom Sherwood, former Post journalist, now TV journalist for WRC/Channel 4. Still you'd think that even though Dream City is out-of-print, that Mr. Jaffe may have read it at least once.

One of the points in today's column, "For Ward 2, Evans is a keeper" which is an endorsement of Councilmember Jack Evans for reelection, in response to criticism that CM Evans works too closely with developers is that someone has to.

I laughed.

Just about every Councilmember has extremely close relationships with developers and the Councilmembers carry the water buckets for developers time and again, for sweeteners like property tax abatements (most require special bills), special development deals (Skyland, Florida Market) often involving the threat of or actual taking of property to benefit the better-connected, land sales, other contracts, TIF benefits, alley closings, etc.

Maybe Councilmember Evans is just "better" at giving the developers absolutely everything they want with very little fuss.

But that isn't negotiating, or best ensuring that the public's rights and needs are represented.

Lawyers, Baseball and Money: The S*** has hit the fan (a la Warren Zevon). Photo: Preston Keres/Washington Post. Press Conference about the new stadium deal. Here, (L to R) Bill Hall, Councilman Vincent Orange, Councilman Jack Evans, Mark Touhey, Councilwoman Linda Cropp, and Mayor Anthony Williams talk with media about the stadium deal.