“Forward faster.” That’s how Councilmember Tommy Wells (Ward 6) described the Fenty Administration at a recent unveiling of a $1.1 billion development plan along the Southwest Waterfront.

Wells wasn’t just talking about the plan to transform the16 acres along the river into a mixed use mecca. He uses the same language when praising the mayor for his quick response to the Eastern Market fire.

Fenty smiles and nods in the affirmative when asked about moving faster than previous administrations. Privately Fenty’s advisors say he’s frustrated that the DC Council isn’t keeping pace. Publicly Fenty only has high praise for what he calls, “one of the best councils the city has ever had.”

Fenty’s response to the recent tragedy in Southeast, where a mother is charged with killing her four daughters, is the latest example of his speed. The mayor was in New Hampshire when the story broke early Wednesday morning. By three o’clock that afternoon, Fenty was back in town standing in front of the row house where the bodies had been rotting for weeks. On Friday, Fenty laid out a timeline of contact the Jack’s family had had with city agencies. On Monday he fired six city employees.

The firings drew criticism from union leaders and angry social service providers who say Fenty moved too quickly in his reaction.

But Fenty has learned by now that there is an appetite in this city for quick action and accountability.

“When I’m out in the neighborhoods in the District, what I hear loud and clear is you need to move faster. The years when things move at a pedestrian pace, I think people are tired of it. People want change, and they want it as quickly as possible, and that’s what my administration is doing.”

Seeing a mayor fire city employees makes many residents feel good, or at least feel like change is afoot. A big part of the mayor’s school reform is firing incompetent central office employees and closing schools. There are a lot of people complaining about the school closings, but not so much over the hundreds of DC public school employees who will lose their jobs this year.

Zoned Out
Changes in your cab rides are another example of Fenty’s fleet footed management style. While it’s true that the mayor was under congressional pressure to make a decision on the fate of the much hated “zone system” of charging taxi passengers, he did it without a lot of consultation. As he likes to say, he’s “lived in this city [his] entire life.” He doesn’t need a blue ribbon panel to tell him the zone system was a bad deal for consumers.

Thanks to a mayoral order, taxi rides will now be cheaper than in New York or Philadelphia, and consumers will not have any doubt about what a taxi ride will cost. They may be taken from Georgetown to Capitol Hill by way of Brookland, but that’s for the government to police. No more ride sharing and no more extra fee during rush hour. Taxi drivers say it will put them out of business and have threatened to strike.

Speaking of the governing body that oversees the District’s taxi industry, the mayor has another big problem that’s been brewing for years. The DC Taxi Cab Commission has not issued a new license to a taxi driver since 2005.  And it’s not because nobody wants to be a cabbie.

Commission Chairman Leon Swain says the three-year backlog of applicants is “about 1,600 last time I checked.”

The reason for the backlog? The test applicants must pass in order to get a license can’t be used.

“The test became corrupt. People could get the answers on the street.” Swain said at Fenty’s press announcement on final taxicab fare regulations.

Fenty, who knew there was a problem, learned the extent of the backlog at the same time reporters did, during the press conference.

“We’ll work to fix the problem immediately.” Fenty said.  If the strikes becomes real, 1,600 new cabs on the street could help, unless all the cabs strike, which is unlikely given the limited success of past strikes, which tend to hurt passengers at Union Station more than anyone else.

Keep Your Powder Dry
The clock is also ticking for home and business owners from Federal Triangle to Fort McNair in Southwest and up to Capitol Hill. The culprit is a ripple effect of Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA has just completed a review of flood maps across the country and determined that the District’s 100-year flood zone needs to be extended because the Army Corps of Engineers say the District’s levee system is “inadequate.”

In an interview on Federal News Radio Michelle Desiderio, Community Planner with the National Capital Planning Commission, said property owners could be required to buy expensive flood insurance.

"Probably the biggest impact is not on the federal government, which is self-insured, but on the private residences and the businesses. They would now have to obtain flood insurance and we don't think they know the maps are modified.”

She couldn’t be more correct; not only don’t many property owners know about this, many councilmembers aren’t aware either. Council Chair Vince Gray was asked about it on WTOP’s Politics Program with Mark Plotkin and said he hadn’t heard about it, citing “another breakdown in communication between the federal government and city officials.”

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who chairs a subcommittee with oversight of FEMA, said she hasn’t seen the proposed maps yet.

“I think the federal government has a very big role to play. When I see the flood map, when we have a hearing, I hope we’re going to get some help from the federal government.”

As for the press, the flood map was a one-day story.

Councilmember Jack Evans (Ward 2) did know about it and said the feds need to step up and fund improvements to the levees. Councilmember Tommy Wells, who represents most of the people impacted by the changes, said he “wasn’t ready to talk about it” when asked.

Mayor Fenty seemed to be the most up to speed on the issue of all the District leaders I asked. Fenty said the lack of notification to residents was a local responsibility, but the rest is up to the feds to fix.

“The communication part is a local issue, everything else is a federal issue that we need to agitate, it’s a money issue to strengthen the levees to get them certified.”

But the mayor didn’t have a strategy in mind to offer relief to property owners faced with having to purchase mandatory flood insurance.

“We need to figure out a way to do it,” he said. Fenty did have some ideas about getting the word out.

“We would have a signature press conference, then some aggressive outreach by ward; we’re still mapping that out.”

DC Votes
The way the Democratic primaries are going, it’s very possible the Feb. 12 primaries in the District, Maryland and Virginia could be pivotal. Fenty agrees.

“It’s extremely healthy that a lot of the February primaries are more relevant. We’re right in the mix now, February fifth and the 12th will be days that help decide the presidential primaries.”

Fenty has endorsed Senator Barack Obama, so will the freshman senator win DC? If the recent Democratic caucus is any indicator, yes. According to one caucus watcher, Obama supporters outnumbered Clinton 2-to-1 with Edwards a very distant third.