I fully support the rhetoric coming from the Bowser administration, “Pathways to the Middle Class”. “We” must find ways to partner with the administration in achieving the goals of maintaining DC’s Middle Class and preserving pathways to it. Unfortunately, overall city policies and those of this administration are designed to squeeze the Middle Class out of existence and put in place an Apartheid like system made up of the so-called “Market Rate Class(es)” and the “Affordable Class(es)” preventing access to the Middle Class. This Apartheid like system, which I call “Genny Crow” after its great grandfather “Jim Crow” evolved out of the Williams Administration and developed through the Fenty and Gray Administrations; however, in spite its best of intentions the Bowser Administration is the first to formalize structurally “Genny Crow” with the creation of a Deputy Mayor for the “Affordable Class(es)”, Courtney Snowden and the Deputy Mayor for the “Market Rate Class(es)’, Brian Kenner. This split by the Bowser Administration is an honest admission that DC’s economic development policies over the last 11 years or so have lacked energy, depth and breadth needed grow, maintain and sustain “Pathways to the Middle Class” and that most of the economic growth experienced over the last 11 years of has been consumed or stolen by “The Tapeworm”. And now in the 50th year since Selma marches, we as a city are rationalizing and resigning ourselves to a reality that Apartheid is legitimate government policy as long it is not explicitly based on racial segregation. Instead of a policy rationalization and resignation, I urge instead a policy of destroying The Tapeworm ensuring “Pathways to the Middle Class”.

I’m often challenged to offer solutions instead of just critiques. Step One must be to starve and then kill the Tapeworm. The Tapeworm is maintained and sustained by DMPED’s Real Estate Development office and affiliated New Communities Office. The Real Estate Development office must immediately be defunded and assets, some personnel under its control transferred to the Deputy Mayor for the “Affordable Classes” along giving it management of DHCD. Walter Reed and St. Elizabeth probably should be spun off. The Real Estate Development office employs at least 8 people making over $120K per year plus benefits. Yet, it took that office 7 years to negotiate a development deal for Hill East. Then leveraging approximately $6M to $8M in public assets negotiated a deal which will create not a single Pathway to the Middle Class for a DC family, but will feed the Tapeworm $28M in equity. Similarly after working the Park Morton New Communities project for 9 years spending at minimum $20M produced at best 11 apartment units applicable to the Park Morton New Communities effort. Again not one Pathway to the Middle Class. This same office after restarting the Park Morton New Communities process about a year ago recently attended several community meetings(in the last 3 weeks), basically stated (while collecting salaries of over $120K each) that they, did not want to provide project timeline dates for Park Morton New Communities, because they did not want the community and residents of Park Morton to be able to hold them accountable. WTF?

Defunding DMPED’s office of Real Estate Development and transferring its assets will not immediately create, “Pathways to the Middle Class”, but it is a prerequisite. As it will immediately clear key obstacles in path to the Middle Class, wealth building opportunities and growth in disposable income for DC families. For example the Hill East deal will result in $28M in equity for the developer, but zero in homeownership equity for DC families. Home equity is one of the primary sources of wealth for entering and sustaining the middle class. The city would have been better off auctioning off the Hill East site and funding trusts for 100 DC General families of $140K each to help create “Pathways to the Middle Class”. Another path way to the middle class is increasing disposable incomes. DMPED’s Real Estate Development office structured the deal at Hill East to maximize rental rates, directly reducing disposable incomes. DMPED achieve the higher rents not only by building them into the deal structure, but by constricting the supply of housing. Delaying the current Hill East deal for 7 years and purposely sitting on many other Hill East parcels driving up rental prices by holding back supply. If the Mayor and Council are serious about affordability and “Pathways to the Middle Class” DMPED’s office of Real Estate Development will be dissolved in this budget cycle. The bottom line is that the Tapeworm consumes “Pathways to the Middle Class’, DMPED’s Real Estate Development office supports the Tapeworm, so the Real Estate Office consumes, not supports “Pathways to the Middle Class”; therefore, the office must be dissolved to create and maintain “Pathways to the Middle Class”. Instead of pathways for the Tapeworm to suck the life out of the Middle Class.
William