The new mayor of Washington, D.C., Anthony Williams, is planning a "common folks" inaugural party with "tickets cheap enough for everyone to afford." According to the account in the Washington Post, "Williams said he and his wife . . . decided that the [last inaugural] parade wasn't well-attended," so they won't be having one.
Perhaps this is meant to strike a note of modest populism, as befits the almost-bankrupt municipal government of the nation's capital. Or maybe Williams is just shrewd. The very same day it reported Williams's plans, the Post also reported that the U.S. attorney's office has initiated a criminal probe into whether a star-studded, going-away gala for Barry in October was illegally paid for by the D.C. government.
Too bad there won't be a bigger party for Williams. The end of Washington's mayoral era of dashikis and Italian suits worn tie-less deserves some fanfare.