Any doubts about just how screwed up city politics are in Washington, D.C. should be put to rest by this Washington Examiner report:
Even before Allen Lew switches from baseball stadium guru to school modernization czar, he’s being asked to play the race card. No one admits this, of course.
But some, including D.C. Council members, are pushing to ensure that local, small, disadvantaged business enterprises (LSDBEs) receive the lion’s share of the multibillion budget for school renovations.
For those unfamiliar with the District’s race-laced lexicon, LSDBE traditionally has meant minority - mostly African-American. In awarding contracts, the government provides preference points to businesses certified as LSDBE, giving those companies the edge over other bidders.
The Federal Government has a similar program that awards preferential, no-bid contracts to businesses owned by minorities and women. In many cases, the minority owned business is in reality, a sham. It’s not unusual to find, for example, a construction subcontractor that is wholly, or at least 51% owned by a minority or woman who is really just a figurehead put in place to ensure that the company can get preferential access to government contracts.
In the case of the D.C. program, though, the set-asides seem to be protecting incompetent businessmen and women:
Consider the Temple Group: From fiscal 2003 to the present, the company raked in more than $136 million. Temple provided construction services to several agencies, including the departments of transportation, health, property management and the library.
Its most consistent client has been the Department of Parks and Recreation. Temple has renovated seven centers, receiving $119 million from the DPR, according to the chief financial officer.
The Chevy Chase Citizens Association can talk about the quality of Temple’s work: “[It's] horrible and it has cost the taxpayers double or triple for most projects,” says Nancy Wilson, who has tracked renovations at the Chevy Chase Community Center.
And, thanks to the fact that race trumps everything in the District, companies like this continue to be awarded contracts simply because of who happens to own them.
