Early Retirement A Good First Step

Today, Mayor Fenty announced plans to offer early retirement incentives to more than 5,000 District employees. This action is an important step to ensure that we make room for a new generation of leaders in our city while continuing to take care of those who have served for years.



I have been knocking on doors in all eight wards of DC over the past few months, and one of the most frequent questions I get from residents is "What will you do to make our government actually work for the people?" It's a question that is extremely important to our future. We have a bloated workforce in the District government. Many employees proudly serve and do their jobs well every single day. But there are many who have lost the passion that they once had for serving residents.



The only way we will truly be efficient and effective is if we increase the number of performers in our government and trim those who are no longer working for the taxpayers. Early retirement is one step, but we need to look at other options, as well. Better methods of evaluation, rewards for good work, and penalties for under performance are all options that I believe should be on the table. Residents of DC deserve the best. The more effective and passionate our government workforce is, the stronger our city will be and fewer instances of corruption will occur.