Thursday, February 14, 2008

Schwartz’s Do-Nothing Conservatism No Longer Works for DC

This election year offers voters a chance to choose between the same stale options and constructive, innovative change. Just as the historic candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are showing a new direction for our nation, the District also needs new leadership with new ideas and a commitment to change.

Mayor Adrian Fenty, Councilmembers Tommy Wells and Mary Cheh, and School Chancellor Michelle Rhee have started that process. But many of their most inventive ideas face a wall of resistance from entrenched forces that oppose all change. Republican Councilmember Carol Schwartz has made her career out of stubbornly defending failed policies for more than 34 years.

I commend Ms. Schwartz for her long service in DC government, but over three decades in public office she has become too either complacent or too stuck in the politics of the past to fight for the changes we need. Her do-nothing ideology led her to oppose our smoke-free restaurant law, oppose Mayor Fenty's education reforms, and oppose equal marriage rights for same sex couples. The only thing she seems to be for is more of the same.

DC deserves better. We can end the Teacher Brain Drain by setting aside $2 million to reward and retain top-performing educators in DC schools, and by creating a fund to support teachers who want to live and work in our city. We can fight crime by implementing my 10,000 Hour Plan, a simple bureaucratic fix that will free up 10,000 additional police hours each year at little or no cost. We need an elected attorney general to aggressively prosecute crimes that occur, and be answerable to the public. A $1 million fund will keep police officers living and working in the city they serve and protect. And we can defend our middle class by creating a public-private partnership to help any resident at risk of losing his or her home because of a job loss or other life-changing event.

Our environment demands aggressive protection. We should emulate world capitals like London and create a downtown congestion zone. This innovation would reduce the number of cars and SUVs from the suburbs that foul our air, relieve gridlock, and provide more funding for mass transit, bike lines, and trails. We should offer financial incentives to encourage residents and taxi fleets to switch to hybrid vehicles, and to convert the city's entire non-emergency fleet to low-emission vehicles within five years.

Instead of sitting idly by while millions of dollars are stolen by corrupt city employees, we need a council member who will ask the tough questions and hold bureaucrats responsible for honest, competent, and courteous service to the public. With proper oversight, we can ensure that every office of the DC government works for the people.

Simply put, DC residents deserve better.

For the next three weeks, I will be away from Washington, DC fulfilling my annual commitment as an officer in the US Naval Reserves. As my responsibilities allow, I will stay connected by elaborating through entries to this blog on my proposals for change.

I'll be back on the campaign trail later this month, and I look forward to a spirited debate about how we can work together to build on our successes and overcome our daunting challenges. Together, we will make Washington the world class city it can be.


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