Here's a wild idea: Randy Clarke for D.C. mayor
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Metro general manager and CEO Randy Clarke. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
Randy Clarke fixed Metro. Maybe he can fix D.C. next?
Why it matters: We need someone to run for mayor!
The big picture: Clarke arrived in D.C three years ago. He made the trains run faster (addressing an age-old problem), redrew the decades-old bus map (somehow avoiding an uproar from folks hyper-attached to their line's name), and brought in tap-to-pay.
- All on a tight budget. And without coffee. His pursuit of savings summed up earlier this year to me: "I'm the OG of DOGE. I'm 100% into effective government."
My thought bubble: Clarke could be the technocrat D.C. needs. A recession is in the forecast, and City Hall needs a steady hand on the wheel. Time for efficiency.
- Classic government services need an overhaul, too. Most people hate visiting the DMV or getting a business license.
- Clarke's Metro mantra: "The best customer service for us is in and out," he told the "Statecraft" podcast.
- Train nerds, don't fret. Under Randy's reign, transit funding could grow.
Between the lines: Clarke may be the long-lost heir to Anthony Williams, D.C.'s last great technocrat.
- When he ran in 1998, Williams was a Harvard-educated, bow-tie-wearing political nobody. But he knew the city's finances better than anybody.
- A bankrupt city recovered. Transitioning from bookish bureaucrat to political animal, Mayor Williams muscled through the deal to bring baseball back to Washington.
Yes, but: When asked about Clarke's electoral chances, D.C. political scholar Michael Fauntroy said: "Who?"
- "I have no idea who that is." Neither do most people.
Reality check: No one's whispering that Clarke is interested. His spokesperson declined to comment.
- If he cares about the moolah, no way he actually runs. It would be a 50% pay cut.
- But the thought experiment is relevant. The tea leaves say Mayor Muriel Bowser may not run a fourth time. Is it time for an outsider?
💭 He wouldn't even have to bring back a sports team. Bowser already did that. Town Talker is a column about money and power in Washington. Send hot takes to: [email protected].