"The first thing I should say about the control board is that we shouldn’t have it," Rivlin told a cheering crowd of about 80 Ward 4 residents at Nativity Catholic Academy Sept. 21.

Rivlin said that after the Nov. 3 general election she wants the control board to meet with the D.C. City Council and the new mayor to work out a plan to restore home rule.

"We could hope to get everything done in two to three years," Rivlin said, acknowledging that the District, by law, is still required to balance its budget for two more years after the current fiscal year to rid itself of the control board.

"Even if we have a good plan, we still have to sell it," Rivlin said. "It’s not going to be an easy sell. The Congress and the country have a terrible image of the District."

Rivlin said it is not enough for the D.C. government to balance its budget. To convince Congress to restore home rule, the District also has to improve its service delivery in all areas to show that real change has occurred.

Responding to residents’ concerns about programs such as public schools and public works, Rivlin told the crowd that even though the District has a budget surplus, "we are still a very cash-strapped city."

When asked about the make-up of the city government after the control board dissolves, Rivlin said the District needs "professional managers" who report to the city’s elected officials. She said she would support a city manager-style government structure that would take responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the government away from the mayor.

Rivlin drew cheers when she told residents she favors a commuter income tax.

"I couldn’t agree with you more about the importance of the District being able to tax non-resident incomes," Rivlin said. "The problem is we don’t control this. Congress controls this and the surrounding jurisdictions are adamant about not letting us tax their residents."

She said a more constructive approach would be to try to recoup some of the money from the federal government. Rivlin said the federal government should help pay for some of the expenses, such as infrastructure repairs, incurred due to commuters.

Copyright 1998, The Common Denominator