After reading the empty article concerning the supposed “failings” of D.C.’s current mayor (“The Big Choke,” 7/2), I am still proud to say that I voted for him. The short list of mistakes described as a “muddled, uninspired mess” is overall insignificant. The author was obviously grasping at straws. Perhaps Lang has not been a longtime city resident. Perhaps she doesn’t recall the unbelievable failings of the mayoral administrations of the past 16 years. Maybe she’s never busted a tire on a pothole big enough to swallow a small child, never been stranded on her street for a week because Department of Public Works hadn’t come to plow, never stood in line at the overheated Department of Motor Vehicles for four hours and still walked away with nothing. Oh, I know she’s unaware of the recent budget deficit to the tune of $730 million. She’s obviously unfamiliar with the long lines of Barry associates and ex-wives who’ve been indicted (or not) for stealing from this cash-strapped city.

The author further diminishes any value that her article/rant may have had by quoting some of the very long-standing public officials who’ve helped put the city into its current turmoil. How long has Jack Evans held his overpaid post? Long enough to watch the city’s deficit grow as he and his colleagues approved Barry’s and Kelly’s laughable budgets, long enough to back a criminal police sergeant.

I am disappointed that the editors of the Washington City Paper would approve such a premature and empty article. After 16 years of professional politicians who didn’t know how to and didn’t care to properly manage a city, I was anxious to elect a mayor with a proven record of accountability and performance. This city doesn’t need another politician; we already have 13 overblown, overpaid pols sitting on the so-called D.C. Council. The mayor shouldn’t have to depend on council votes due to established connections; councilmembers should want to vote on policies that benefit the city.

Brightwood

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