Pubdate: Mon, 05 Jan 2015
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Aaron C. Davis

NEW D.C. MAYOR

Bowser on TV Show With Police and Schools Chiefs

Muriel Bowser, Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and schools Chancellor 
Kaya Henderson appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" to discuss issues 
facing the city. New D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser appeared on national 
television Sunday flanked by longtime District Police Chief Cathy L. 
Lanier and Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson.

The interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd drew 
attention to the fact that the District will be alone among the 
nation's top 50 cities this year in having women in all three top 
leadership roles.

"How fitting for the nation's capital to have three women in charge, 
women who have gotten things done in this city for years," Bowser (D) 
said when asked by Todd about the distinction. "We want the whole 
world to know we are a city on the move."

Immediately before the show, Todd appeared on the network's local 
morning news program to explain why he chose the panel of Bowser, 
Lanier and Henderson for a newscast almost exclusively devoted to 
national politics.

"Here we talk about how Washington will change when women are in 
charge: Janet Yellen, head of the Fed; Hillary Clinton could be the 
first woman president," Todd said. "Well, guess what, the city is 
already now run by all women." Early on in the seven-minute "Meet the 
Press" interview that followed, Todd paused to note that his wife, 
Kristian Denny Todd, worked for Bowser's campaign.

"Full disclosure, my wife worked as a paid adviser to Muriel Bowser's 
mayoral campaign in 2014," Todd said.

Denny Todd's name does not appear separately on Bowser's campaign 
finance reports, but Maverick Strategies and Mail LLC, a firm she 
founded and where she was formerly a principal, was paid more than 
$634,000 last year by Bowser's campaign. Denny Todd is now with 
Maverick Strategies. The financial relationship between the two firms 
is not clear from District campaign finance disclosures.

In the interview, Bowser was asked about the District's historically 
tense relationship with Congress, and she initially played it down. 
The relationship is likely to be tested as District leaders decide 
how far to press in implementing a voter-approved ballot measure to 
follow Colorado and Washington state in legalizing marijuana for 
recreational use. Republican House members say a provision in a 
federal budget measure passed last month prevents the city from moving forward.

"We're a city and a county and a state all at once, so we do have a 
unique relationship with the Congress, and we're looking forward to 
working with the new Congress and are optimistic about those 
relationships," Bowser said.

Pressed by Todd about the marijuana measure, however, Bowser 
eventually said all options remain on the table.

"Congress basically said no," Todd said. "Are you going to challenge 
Congress on that?"

"Well, we want to respect the will of the D.C. voters, and we think 
that Initiative 71 is self-enacting," the mayor said, using a legal 
term that proponents of the ballot measure say means Congress can't 
effectively stop the city from legalizing pot.

"The bottom line for us is we have to have laws that are clear and 
enforceable," Bowser said.

"Are you going to sue Congress over this?" Todd asked.

"We want to work with our Congress, and we want the will of the 
residents of D.C. to be enforced."

"Have you ruled out a lawsuit?" Todd repeated.

"We're going to explore every option," Bowser said.

The "Meet the Press" interview gave Henderson, the schools chief, a 
chance to plug D.C. public schools, which experienced larger gains in 
scores on recent math and reading tests than any other major urban 
school system - though the system still trails the large-city average.

The appearance also highlighted that under Lanier, protests that have 
swelled nationally over alleged police brutality have largely 
remained peaceful in the nation's capital.

"The focus on Ferguson [Mo.], the focus on what happened in Staten 
Island. It's a challenge to a lot of police forces. You haven't had 
these issues in your department," Todd said.

"I think it's really about building those strong relationships with 
the community, and you really have to do it every single day," Lanier 
said. "You can't do it in crisis. You do it every day, and the 
community trusts and supports you."

In an appearance earlier Sunday on NBC's "News4 Today," Bowser said 
her early decisions to keep Lanier and Henderson were designed to 
make sure the District would retain the best leaders of prior administrations.

"It was important to me after I won the primary in April to send a 
signal to all of the cities around the country that you can't have 
our chief, and that's what I did," Bowser said.

Speaking of crime, the mayor said she would still push Lanier to 
improve the department.

"As mayor, my job is to never be satisfied," Bowser said. "Any amount 
of crime on our streets is too much."

She also hinted that domestic violence would be a policing priority 
during her term. "We want to make sure that our young people and men 
and women in their homes are safe, and I think that is the next 
frontier in policing," she said.

Bowser continued to express skepticism about a 37-mile streetcar 
system, the first leg of which, on HStreet and Benning Road NE, has 
been plagued by delays.

"Our Metro system is really the engine of this region, and we have to 
makesure that system has the money that it needs to continue," Bowser 
said, adding that she wants to "right-size" the streetcar program.

"I don't think 'expand' is the word; I like the word 'right-size,' " 
Bowser said. "We have a $1 billion plan on the table, and we have to 
figure out how to get H Street right first and figure out what 
lessons we need to take to other parts of the city, but we shouldn't 
let that dominate our public transit conversation."

Bowser said she was intrigued by the speed with which the city could 
begin new bus routes and create designated lanes for buses along busy 
thoroughfares.

"I think, really, our future is in the bus," she said.

Bowser also disclosed that inside the District's municipal building 
on Pennsylvania Avenue, her office will be more accessible than under 
her predecessor. Bowser said that when she goes to work Monday, her 
office will be with her top aides' on the third floor of the 
building. Previously, the mayor's office has been by itself, on the sixth floor.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom