Fenty Will Not Run in 2014, Friend Says
Former District Mayor Adrian Fenty recently told one of his closest advisers that he will not run for his old job in 2014.
"Adrian is not interested in getting into politics at all," said Joshua Lopez, a political activist who lives in Northwest. "He is doing great. He is excelling in the private sector."
Fenty, 41, served on the D.C. Council representing Ward 4 from 2001-2007 and as mayor from 2007-2011. During his mayoral tenure, the city's public schools received a great deal of national attention due to his controversial chancellor, Michelle Rhee.
Fenty, who lives in Northwest, is credited with improving the efficiency of government services, renovating libraries, parks and recreation centers. He also legalized same-sex marriage in the District in December 2009. However, he ran into trouble with government contracts that were given to companies owned by his fraternity brothers.
He lost the September 2010 Democratic mayoral primary to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray.
Lopez, 27, said that Fenty still likes politics "but has a somewhat different focus."
"He is now focused more on national and international politics but D.C. is still his heart," Lopez said.
"You cannot fully separate from it. With his experience in politics, he is a hot commodity around the globe."
The former mayor serves as special counsel to the law firm of Klores Perry Mitchell, P.C. in Northwest and he served as a distinguished visiting professor of politics, a featured lecturer and a career adviser in the Department of African American Studies at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, his alma mater, in 2011.
Fenty is also a speaker with the Greater Talent Network, a speakers' bureau based in New York City. He also advises Rosetta Stone, a foreign language software producer in Arlington, Va., and is a member of the advisory board of EverFi Inc., in Northwest, an online education and certification firm.
Lopez said that Fenty now enjoys spending more time with his family.
"When I talked to him about running in 2014, he quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who once said, 'Longevity has its place' ...," he said." He [told] me that politics is not his life and he is ready to move on to the next stage."
Douglas to Run for Chairman and School Board Positions
Ward 7 State Board of Education member Dorothy Douglas is taking advantage of a recent ruling by the D.C. Board of Elections and will run for re-election to the school board in the general election and chairman of the D.C. Council in a special election, both will take place on November 6.
"I do not see running for both positions as a conflict," said Douglas, 64. "They go hand-in-hand. The purpose of both positions is to save lives."
The Board of Elections issued a ruling in June that stated that a candidate can be on the ballot for both the general and special elections if they obtain the appropriate number of signatures and meet other requirements.
D.C. Council member Vincent Orange (D-At-Large) considered running for re-election as an at-large council member and chairman in June, but opted to stick with his at-large seat on the council.
Douglas, who lives in Northeast, said that running for both positions opens up a lot of opportunities.
"There is so much you can do," she said. "You can help the homeless and you can bring on economic development. You can help those who really need help."
Douglas has served on the State Board of Education since January 2009, as a result of her election in November 2008.
She ran for the D.C. Council chair in the September 2010 Democratic primary but lost to Kwame Brown, who won the position in the November 2010 general election. She also ran against D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) in the Tue., April 3 Democratic primary, but once again, came up short.
At present, her opponent for the school board is Villareal Johnson, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 7 and for chairman she faces interim D.C. Chairman Phil Mendelson, Ward 5 activist John Cheeks, and Statehood Green Party activist Robert Matthews.
Douglas said that she's focused on getting her message to the people.
"I have the knowledge and the information to get things done for people," she said. "I have to take advantage of the chance to run for both positions. People want hope and I want to provide that for them."