Intentional Grounding

MLK Memorial Library. Picture by Rob Goodspeed

SCOOP: Are the Mayor's plans to create a new library on the grounds of the Old Convention Center DOA? That's the story, after the D.C. City Council just voted to table the legislation in committee by a 3–2 vote. Councilmembers Marion Barry, Carol Schwartz, and Vincent Gray caucused before the meeting began, delaying quorum for nearly 20 minutes. After chair Kathy Patterson finally called the session to discuss Bill 16-734 (The Library Transformation Act of 2006), Schwartz immediately motioned to table the legislation. Patterson called for a roll-call vote, and the motion carried: Barry and Grey voted with Schwartz.

So, with the legislative session winding down, any other attempt to pass the legislation during Mayor Williams's tenure will involve introducing emergency legislation. That requires nine votes. Whether he has that many votes in the Council or not, and it's not clear that he does, it probably won't happen: Vincent Gray is the chair next term, and members are likely to defer to his vote on legislation that immediately impacts the next session. And really, for all its woes, the library is hardly the stuff of emergency legislation—unless you're preparing your legacy, that is.