Fenty Gets Schooled
Even among the array of big-city mayors staking their political aspirations (and legacies) on reforming woeful public school districts, Adrian Fenty stands out for having bet more of his future on such reforms than anyone else. The Washington, D.C., mayor's takeover of D.C. Public Schools -- and its (so-far successful) overhaul effort by controversial reform stalwart Michelle Rhee -- remains his biggest success in a first term renowned for spats with the clown college known as the city council and incidents of alleged cronyism.
The focus on improving the school system -- once called the Superfund site of American public education -- has also been the only reason why Fenty has remained a shoo-in for a second term. Unlike the old-school black Democrats, civil servant union members, hard-core left-leaners, and aging civil rights leaders that Fenty has rubbed the wrong way, the motley crew of inside-the-Beltway policy wonks, Teach For America alumni and young urbanites who make up part of the District's -- and America's -- school reform movement have been among his biggest supporters.
But Fenty may have doomed his own chances for re-election and his aspirations for higher office -- by standing up the very school reformers otherwise loyal to his cause.
On Monday, Fenty was supposed to debate his foremost rival, D.C. City Council President Vincent Gray, at something called "The Great