Elect the DC State Superintendent of Education?

I am torn about "statehood" for DC.  People mostly make the argument that statehood is a right.  The fact is that historically, statehood wasn't a right, territories had to meet certain conditions in order to be able to become states.  One of the conditions was financial sustainability.  Likely petitions from places with a lot of corrupt practices weren't seen as strong candidates for statehood, etc.

My point about "statehood" is that if DC wants to become a state, it needs to set higher aspirations, and act like a state, proving the case, rather than just whining about how we deserve it.

One of the ways to do this would be to be a shining example of democracy in "state-level" governance.

In the past I have proposed that:

1.  the number of wards and number of City Councilmembers should be expanded, in part to reposition the Council more like a Legislature (but unicameral), but also to make it harder to pass legislation and to reduce the caudillo-like control that Councilmembers have within wards*;

2.  the Attorney General should become elected, as it is in most states ("The DC elections and the referendum on the Attorney General")--voters approved this in 2010, the Executive Branch opposes this and the City Council abruptly delayed the creation of the independent office a couple months ago;

3.  the Inspector General position in the Executive Branch and the Auditor position in the Legislative Branch should be eliminated in favor of an elected "Public Advocate" (which is what the position is called in New York City) but with stronger, and independent, powers*;

4.  We should elect the CFO maybe, too (equivalent to a Comptroller in other cities), see "The DC Chief Financial Officer position: what is to be done? Make it elected!," although there is no question that such positions, depending on the level of control over awarding contracts, can be abused (see "As Pension Chief, Thompson Gave Work to Donors" from the New York Times);

5.  we should return to having a school board that oversees the public schools, instead of rolling all those functions into the Mayor's Office, with spotty oversight from the City Council* (* = discussed in this blog entry, "Continued musing on restructuring DC's City Council (mostly).")

Earlier this week it was announced that Mayor Gray wishes to appoint Jesus Aguirre, currently director of the Parks and Recreation Department, as State Superintendent of Education.  See "Jesús Aguirre to be DC's new state superintendent for education" from the Washington Post.  The appointment must be approved by City Council.

DC is treated as a state by the federal government for administrative purposes, so like the "real" states, we have a State Department of Education providing oversight of various school functions--except that unlike in every other "state", the oversight functions for K-12 public schools has been for the most part taken away.

In most states and in DC, the "State Board of Education" is popularly elected.  

In the majority of states, the chief officer of the Department of Education, typically called a Superintendent, is not appointed by the Executive, but by the State Board of Education.  In a handful of states, but including California, the State Superintendent of Education is popularly elected. 

(In Michigan, public universities are treated as a fourth branch of government, and the boards of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University are popularly elected; note that three other states elect the boards of public universities in a similar fashion.)

In order to have separation of powers and proper oversight, DC's State Board of Education should get back the authority to oversee K-12 public education.

And either the Superintendent should be appointed by the State Board of Education or elected.  The Superintendent of the public school system should be chosen in a different fashion.

This would be another plank in the argument that DC should "earn" statehood, because it is behaving as states should and do.

JBG lawsuit against DC, Marriott over the Convention Center hotel

To me, the interesting thing about the lawsuit that JBG has entered against DC, claiming favored treatment of Marriott and special dealing, is that it is about the absolutely same behavior that was exhibited by DC Council in entering into a special relationship with the Sang Oh Choi interests to redevelop the Florida Market area of DC. See "Lawsuit is newest roadblock for District's long-awaited hotel" from the Washington Post.

This is a rare fight amongst actors who are normally co-working team players within the Growth Machine. As the Washington Business Journal suggests in this article, "What's behind JBG's convention hotel lawsuit?":

The lawsuit, which was filed in Superior Court on Sept. 4 — two weeks before the developer lost an administrative bid appeal — puzzled and dismayed many observers, who questioned why the company would fight over a contract it had not even pursued. Several sources interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity, as they were either not authorized to speak to the media or they wanted to maintain relationships.

One possible scenario, sources close to the deal said, is that JBG is using hardball tactics to gain leverage in an unrelated business dispute at the Marriott Wardman Park, which JBG owns with Los Angeles-based CIM Group. CIM joined JBG’s administrative bid protest but is not a party of the lawsuit, according to court records.

The target of the lawsuit, in other words, is actually Marriott, not the city, sources say.

We should all be familiar with the concept of separation of powers. Generally, laws that cover the Executive Branch are not extended to the Legislative Branch, unless specifically called for in the law, with the approval of the Legislative Branch.

It happens that DC contracting and procurement laws, at least right now, exempt DC City Council actions. The laws only cover the Executive Branch and its dealings.

Note that I am not a lawyer, but that was my understanding based on the multi-year somewhat unsuccessful/somewhat successful advocacy against the Sang Oh Choi urban renewal program for the Florida Market.

So JBG is likely to lose the suit on the merits, not because they are wrong to be concerned about special deals from City Council--although in normal circumstances their concern about this likely extends only to the contracts they get in this fashion --but because City Council lacks the same legal requirements over contracting that pertain to the Executive Branch.

That, to me, is the real issue here. Along with whether or not Marriott will cave to JBG's demands on the other property just to get them to drop the suit so that they can proceed to build the Convention Center hotel.

Which is another irony, given that the City Council is making a point of how the Executive Branch has been breaking the law on contracting, which came to their attention first over special contracting to friends of the Mayor, which by the way, columnists at the Examiner, Harry Jaffe and Jonetta Rose Barras, don't seem to think is a big deal.

See "Gray wants to give Fenty administration more time on contracts," "Firm got millions after D.C. Council ended contract," and "D.C. Council ends deal with Fenty's friend's firm" from the Post for more on the issue. Look up the old Examiner columns on their website yourself.

For past writings on the Florida Market issue, see:

- If the developer doesn't care, then what happens?
- Gateway Market Testimony
- Civic engagement, zoning matters, and democracy

- This entry reprints a positive press release about the Sang Oh Choi project from the local Councilmember, Ward 5 to announce major investment in Florida Market urban renewal project
- The Florida Market bill before City Council
- AARGH on the Florida Market area

for some of the past entries on the Florida Market debacle.

Unitary Government/Dictatorship vs. Separation of Powers

The fact that DC is located in the same place where the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government are located ought to provide opportunities for analysis and observation about the abuse of power when checks and balances aren't present.

The Washington Post is justly proud for its role in bringing down a president, Richard Nixon, whose abuse of executive power was unprecedented.

Yet the lesson of Richard Nixon or even more recent examples under President Bush and co-president Richard Cheney seems to go unheeded locally, at least by the Washington Post editorial board, when it comes to the Executive and Legislative branches of our local municipal government in Washington, DC.

The Post, as I have written before, is depressed because despite all that they publish about abuse of power and bad government at the municipal level, particularly in DC (but also in other jurisdictions like Prince George's County Maryland) and nothing changes--the scoundrels stay in office.

Therefore, judging by the paper's editorials, they have come to believe that if there is a benevolent and able dictator in place then things will be better than with messy and corrupt democracy.

The problem with this belief I suppose is that the Post believes that Adrian Fenty is, if not benevolent, extremely knowledgeable and infused with all the right ideas and vision to carry the city forward.

Alas, that isn't the case. Plus for the most part the DC Council acts like toadies, and hasn't developed an independent capacity and desire for excellence. From time to time the Council manages to challenge the Mayor.

Most recently this was over the appointment of Ximena Hartsock as Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation. See "Fenty's Pick to Lead Parks Agency Rejected: Council Vote, Coming After Accusations of Bias, Aggravates Relations With Mayor" and this editorial, "Grudge Voting: D.C. Council members are peeved. The city pays a price" from the Post.

They aren't happy. And neither is Peter Nickles, who like how Vice President Cheney was more like a Co-President, as Attorney General somehow feels it's his business to be concerned about how the City Council chooses to affirm or deny appointments.

If that doesn't communicate to us the absolute necessity of making the DC Attorney General a separately elected position in order that the officeholder best meet sometimes conflicting duties of representing the government and representing "the people" who through their sanctioned fealty empower government, I don't know what is.

But the reality is that you need checks and balances. And Jonetta Rose Barras, in "FENTY RESPONSIBLE FOR REJECTION OF NOMINEE," discusses the real problems that are going on with the DC Dept. of Parks and Recreation and the lack of background in the field on the part of Ms. Hartsock--and therefore why she wasn't a good choic. Regardless of her ethnicity, and the buffoonery of some of the councilmembers or those testifying, this is about the direction of the department.

WRT parks and recreation issues for example, the State of Maryland requires that each county in the state must create a Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan, which must be updated on a 6 year cycle and submitted to the state. Typically, at the County level, this plan acts as the master plan for the local department of recreation and parks.

So on most any county website in the State of Maryland you can find the county's park and recreation master plan. Try doing that for DC, or finding a document that is as well defined. (Arlington County, VA of course also has its master plan for parks and recreation on its website.)

-- the Planning section from the DC Department of Parks and Recreation website has no links to an overall master plan although it does have capital improvement plans

-- although there is a separate initiative of DPR, the DC Office of Planning, the National Park Service, and the National Capital Planning Commission, called Capital Space, on an overall plan, but no draft plans have been released as of yet)

-- Arlington County's Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources has three master plans on Public Spaces, Urban Forests, and Public Art, plus master plans for individual park facilities

-- and from the Montgomery County Maryland Parks and Recreation Department, there is the Park, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan: A Local Land Preservation and Recreation Plan and this "old" document which still guides the agenda, "Parks for Tomorrow": A Visionary Supplement to the 1998 Park, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan

Gary Imhoff, in his introduction to the current issue of themail, discusses the absolute power-dictatorial firings of staffers by Ximena Hartsock, and by Chancellor Rhee.

You'd think the Post would be up in arms about the lack of due process, the need for careful review, etc.

I wrote on an education email list last week this question:

With student enrollments roughly constant, and student-teacher ratios generally favorable, and an attrition rate of maybe 300 teachers per year, what was the justification for hiring 900 teachers?

Frankly, Rhee is the one who should be getting canned, not receiving accolades about her great efforts. Especially given the fact that the school system's budget for this fiscal year is higher than the budget for last year.