Aftershocks from DC's Mayoral Election
by Frederick M. Hess • Sep 17, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Cross-posted from Education Week
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It's Friday and it's been a long week, so I'll cut to the chase. Four things worth noting about the aftermath of Mayor Adrian Fenty's defeat in D.C. on Tuesday.
First, the poaching is already on for the phenomenal staff that Michelle Rhee recruited to D.C. Assuming that Rhee is leaving, sharp-eyed talent hawks across the land are already contacting her team members. Unless they turn downs the outstretched hands en masse, this doesn't bode well for a transition. This means that it would behoove mayor-in-waiting Vincent Gray to move quickly on the leadership question, and to make it clear that he truly is committed to continuing Rhee's transformational efforts--or a new leader will find the DCPS cupboard picked over, and be forced to start from square one. More practically, if you're running an outfit that's hungry for talent and want a shot at folks in DCPS, you'd do well to start working the phones sooner rather than later.
Second, the word is that at least a few member of the D.C. City Council are floating a compromise which would have Rhee stay through 2011-12, to ease any transition. I don't think that's likely to get much traction. It would render her a lame duck and rob her of much of her effectiveness even as it denies Gray his chance to transition to more "inclusive" reform. Knowing Rhee a little bit and knowing how these things work, I think it's safe to
