Peter Nickles Sends Flowers to Mary Cheh
The picture on the right documents the soft side of D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles. Late last week, he clashed yet again with Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, this time over the Fenty administration's use of some fancy contracting footwork that enabled it to sidestep mandatory D.C. Council review of contracts exceeding $1 million. The contracts were routed through the independent D.C. Housing Authority and were destined for the upgrade of city parks.
Anyhow, Cheh told a Washington Post reporter that Fenty was running almost a "lawless administration", and Nickles lashed right back, saying the councilmember “has no idea what she’s talking about....For her to make comments like that, it’s stupid,” he said. “She’s an angry woman.”
Thus, the bouquet.
Photo by Mike DeBonis
12:20 pm
Because that's what you get an angry woman when you want to calm her down...
12:34 pm
Isn't that a little patronizing?
12:45 pm
I guess he figures she's too stupid to see that.
And he's probably right given that her office seems to be the one publicizing this story.
12:48 pm
I'm an "Angry Woman" too (at this current Administration) can I get a bouquet too - or maybe a contract? lol
1:31 pm
HAH! Nice Debonis... nice...
1:40 pm
I prefer to see the vase as half full, as does Cheh, apparently, as she also mentioned she likes chocolates.
They'd make a cute couple, btw!
2:03 pm
Wait. He says something *increeeedibly* sexist to her and he thinks sending her...flowers...somehow reverse the sexism?
lol.
he dumb.
3:08 pm
Nickles is a complete idiot...!
5:34 pm
Cheh's not too bright either.
12:22 am
Ugh, but Marion Barry told Hartsock she was not good for the job because she was a woman ....that wasn't sexist?
12:27 am
You gotta love Nickles...Cheh is just sad...and of course angry too!
6:57 am
"this city is dumb", that isn't what he said. He said that Hartsock didn't understand "black and brown" culture, which was insensitive to Latino's. Prejudiced yes, sexist no. Both are wrong.
8:01 am
Barry also said something about how women don't understand sports the way men do.
So does Barry get (or lose) points for not sending Hartsock flowers to apologize? I'm going with get -- flowers from Barry would be even creepier than flowers from Nickles.
I heard Cheh sent Nickles a pair of handcuffs to apologize for her "lawless" comment. Hey, Mike, can you get us pictures?
9:29 am
I think the Barry statements, sexist, racist (or prejudice as some of you prefer), were well-covered by both the post and CP. I don't see how throwing light on that excuses Nickles in this situation. Also, why is there such backlash at Cheh? She's an incredibly competent person and as far I can tell, councilmember. Tell me honestly, knowing the roster of characters in DC politics, who would you all prefer. Tommy Thomas, Barry, Kwame Brown, Graham, Evans, Fenty, Sinclair Skinner, Ronald Motten, Bishop Jackson? Come on people, she's never engaged in an of the very iffy transactions/arrangements that some these guys have or been as incompetently controversial as the rest of them.
11:22 am
Cheh was chief apologist for the West End emergency legislation (At a certain point, even Evans was sending out her account of why it was legit/necessary) whose beneficiaries included Joe Sternlieb (who set out to play Kingmaker in her Ward 3 race). Then she tried to secure a no-bid contract for an ex-campaign workers firm to build condos over the Tenley library and the Janney elementary school soccer field. She came in vowing to clean house at DCRA and accomplished nothing. The legislation she sponsors seems more designed to get her media coverage or awards from non-profits than to actually address the very real problems the District and its residents face.
She's both arrogant and ignorant (check out the WaPo mag interview where she admits that when she was elected she didn't know who was on the Council). And she shares Peter Nickles' penchant for insisting that the law is (or will be) whatever she says it is. She ignores the law when it would get in her way and invokes it (speciously) when others do things she disagrees with. Yet people assume she knows what she's talking about because she's a law professor and relatively articulate when compared to some of her Tweedledum and Tweedledumber colleagues. But, sheesh, how low do we have to set the bar here?
I prefer Catania and Mendelson. Or let's draw the name of any random Ward 3 voter from a hat next time and odds are we'd get better representation than we have now.
1:56 pm
So Mr. Nickles's "apology" for a sexist and demeaning outburst was to give the "stupid" and "angry woman" flowers? That strikes me as pretty sexist and demeaning in itself. (I can't help but wonder whether any sincere apology accompanied the gift, or if Nickles was secretly smirking to himself.)
(Unfortunately, Ms. Cheh's response that she "likes chocolate" - while no doubt intended to be lighthearted and to defuse some of the tension - doesn't help her cause in this situation; it just plays into the sexist stereotype. I bet she wishes she could have that moment back.)
If Mr. Nickles truly wishes to atone for his inappropriate behavior, the right thing to do - to show proper respect for Ms. Cheh as a member of the elected legislature (and for her fellow Councilmembers as well) - would be to cooperate with Council inquiries and investigations, as opposed to ignoring and stonewalling them.
And, in general, to represent all of the government and citizens of the District, not just the Mayor. For an attorney of his reputation and experience and supposed expertise, he seems to have an awful lot of trouble grasping the difference between his previous position (Chief Counsel to the Mayor) and his present one.
6:59 pm
Lol @ Red Shirt .... I think it is. I guess he figures now he's sent her flowers she'll twirl her hair and feel all pretty.