This large sign has been sitting outside the Hurt Home since the summer. After the primary some wiseacre has modified this sign to kick Fenty when he’s down. If you can’t make it out, it says “Adrian M. Fenty, Ex Mayor” and later it reads “Creating Economic Opportunities for the District of Columbiafraternity brothers.”
Whoever wrote it must be very pleased with himself since after writing it initially, he came back with a darker pen and traced over his opus to make it easier to read.
For what it’s worth, there haven’t been any accusations that Argos Group is in anyway connected with Fenty’s fraternity.
GM doesn’t support graffiti like this, but really, these vanity signs are pretty bad in the first place. They use public funds to serve one purpose: increase the mayor’s approval rating. This one is particularly bad since: A. Fenty’s name is about 50% larger than all the other text, B. It provides no useful information about the project, and C. It’s freaking huge.
GM hopes (but doesn’t expect) that Vincent Gray won’t waste our money on self-congratulatory signs like this.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
I agree that a lot of the motivation behind the signs is vanity (especially the font size of the mayor’s name), but it’s also important to demonstrate that tax dollars do, in fact, sometimes get spent on useful activities. It also helps anyone who objects to the development to identify which branch of government should be petitioned in order to hear one’s grievances.
I miss my Sharon Pratt Kelly recycling bin…still have my Anthony Williams trash can.
Have to agree with RobRob. This sign is dedicated mainly to selling the current Mayor, but with some actual info about the project would be useful for passers-by and community members. Great way to raise awareness, if done properly.
Well, one positive thing about the sign….it shamed the Mayor into getting the grass cut this summer. It had been totally neglected before a neighbor pointed out the juxtaposition of the sign and the weeds!
Vanity or not, Mayor Fenty has done a great deal of good for this city and our neighborhood, as the absolutely stunning and unbelievably quick (by DC standards) renovation of the Georgetown library can attest. The Mayor’s governance is so revered that a citizen-initiated and organized campaign to write-in his name in the general election (http://www.facebook.com/RunFentyRun) has popped up. According to rumors (i.e., Mike Debonis’s blog), it has a surprising amount of support.
Will this be before or after he hires his fraternity brother Herb Miller as a Deputy Mayor?
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