Meet Sekou Biddle, who will take the oath of office as DC’s newest At-Large councilmember. Don’t remember voting for or against Mr. Biddle? No surprise there, he was selected by the DC Democratic State Committee, literally in a backroom (a kitchenette, actually) at about 9pm last night. Why did this happen? In short, because the electoral system of the District of Columbia makes about as much sense as a paper bag full of ninjas wielding salamis.
When DC selected Kwame Brown to be the new chair of the city council this November, the DCDSC were placed in charge of replacing Mr. Brown until such time as his successor could be elected (currently scheduled for April 26th) and, because they chose not to listen to our little reality show idea, they let 74 people whose selection to the committee is of unclear provenance vote in quasi-secret ballots to select Mr. Biddle.
Thursday night was a sausage-making affair the likes of wish you’d hope not to see in the Nation’s Capital, but it makes the council whole again, and Mr. Biddle carried the endorsement of a number of sitting councilmembers. Biddle currently serves as a Ward 4 Board of Education member.
Congratulations on your new job, Mr. Councilman.
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
