Hundreds attend Mayor Gray’s ‘One City’ summit

Posted at 03:32 PM ET, 02/11/2012

Mayor Vincent C. Gray welcomed about 1,800 District residents to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday for a citizens’ summit, an event praised for engaging the public but criticized for its $ 600,000 price tag and seeming bureaucracy.

Grouped at numbered tables as if at a banquet, participants prioritized the city’s issues, ranking the lack of affordable housing and corruption first and second, respectively. They also discussed ways to improve public education, create jobs and dispose of vacant city property.

Using wireless devices smaller than calculators, participants voted on the priorities and ideas with results appearing immediately on large screens.

“This is real-time, grassroots democracy, D.C. style,” Gray (D) told the crowd.

But some participants questioned whether their ideas would be implemented while others wondered whether the “One City Summit,” was actually stuck in the past even as it used high-tech devices and was streamed live online.

When the One City Summit began, electronic devices and tweeting were prohibited, according to Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, founder and president of America Speaks, the nonprofit that facilitated the event. The announcement drew outrage among tweeters — inside and outside the event — and resulted in a reversal by the Gray administration and America Speaks.

The Gray administration acknowledged the summit was a throwback to the administration of former Mayor Anthony A. Williams, a two-term mayor who often had to fight the perception that he was aloof. Williams held four similar events during his tenure, which were facilitated by America Speaks.

In 1999, Williams wore a plaid shirt and khakis, an everyman outfit. Gray appeared Saturday in a sports jacket and tieless.

Read more: D.C. politics coverage

By  |  03:32 PM ET, 02/11/2012


DC Wire

D.C. corporate donation ban can go on ballot, AG says

D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan ruled Thursday that a proposed ballot initiative to ban corporate donations to city candidates can move forward, saying the proposal is a “proper subject” to put before voters.  The ruling appears to clear the way for supporters of the initiative to start collecting the 22,000 signatures needed to get…

D.C. homeowners eligible for $40 million from mortgage fraud settlement

Posted at 01:40 PM ET, 02/09/2012 District homeowners are eligible for an estimated $ 40 million from a landmark settlement of more than $ 25 billion with five banks over fraudulent foreclosure practices. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the deal Thursday morning with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Ally Financial and…

OSSE bus drivers among top offenders in city unemployment fraud, Nathan says

This post has been updated. D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan said bus drivers employed by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education are among the top 10 offenders in a scheme to collect unemployment benefits while still holding their jobs. Nathan described a major offender as an individual who fraudulentlyD.C. Attorney General Irvin…

Today in Pictures – 2400 14th Street

Giants vs Patriots: Who’s your pick? Super Bowl Super Bowl 2012: Giants, Pats on the defensive Iran Israel Warns US Jews: Iran Could Strike Here Columbia Heights News