In case you missed it, here is a link to the Washington Post’s coverage of Mayor Bowser’s move from Riggs Park to Shepherd Park after 15 years in the neighborhood that ushered her into public office. A Post reporter attended LRCA’s holiday meeting on December 7 and spoke to a few neighborhood residents. The article, strangely titled “DC Mayor leaves her working-class digs for a more upscale neighborhood,” was clearly going for a certain slant, suggesting that the move symbolizes the value placed on representing residents of more modest means. (We will assume for the moment that the mayor strongly advocated on behalf of middle-income residents when on the council). If the reporter was hoping to get negative feedback on the move from the mayor’s neighbors, it looks like she did not get it Monday night. Certainly there are those who have critical thoughts about the mayor (check out a few comments on LRCA’s facebook page) (Disclosure: I maintain the page with a few other residents).

I do not think the move really matters much. I think the mayor’s values matter more. Certainly where the mayor lives can have an impact on what is valued, but in this case I do not think the slant the Post aimed for is really accurate. For example, the mayor drives everywhere. Even as a councilmember, she largely drove everywhere. So she is not going to be super concerned or maybe as thoughtful as I would like about pedestrian, biking, or public transit issues unless residents beat the drum on those issues because her perspective is largely that of a driver. That is something that matters to me more than the fact that it was obvious to everyone even when she was campaigning to be mayor that she would be moving if elected. The same can be said for the mayor’s delay in responding to the FreshPAC fiasco in any meaningful or thoughtful way. That matters and I do not think that is driven by where she lives. We know that moneyed interests have an outsize influence in the political arena for most of our elected officials (witness the astounding payoffs happening to get DC elected and non-elected officials, nonprofits, and residents to support the Pepco-Exelon merger). Again that matters and has little to do with where the mayor or any of our elected officials live.

This article missed the mark by trying to draw a really dubious link. As I mentioned in my previous post, I think there is room to talk about the mayor’s legacy to the neighborhood, in some cases critically and publicly. The move provides nice timing to talk about those issues, but I think that is about it.