Category Archives: All Politics is Local

All Politics is Local, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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Michelle Rhee On “This Week”

Photo courtesy of
‘Michelle Rhee’
courtesy of ‘angela n.’

Yesterday morning, DC’s chancellor of Public Schools, appeared on ABC’s “This Week” to weigh in on the current state of America’s public education system. During the round table discussion with Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, President of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, and host Christiane Amanpour, Rhee (who joined via satellite from Sacramento) spoke to the revamping of the DC teacher evaluation model, implementing a merit-based compensation system  and reforming the way government resources flow into the school districts.

See the first segment of the discussion, after the jump.

Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The District, The Features
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Campaign Notebook: August 27, 2010

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Flag’
courtesy of ‘kevnkovl’

OK folks, we’re now less than three weeks out from primary day. Eighteen days. What in the world will us journobloggers do once this is all over? These things are getting a bit longer as we get closer to the election, so let’s get started.

The Big Race

We’re getting down to the wire, and things are getting ugly. The Gray campaign unveiled it’s first television spot, which hits hard on the “cronyism” topic. Gray has also sent out a barrage of mailers with the same theme. Going negative with the first television spot is a bold move, going against most conventional wisdom. However, like others, we have to wonder how much conventional wisdom applies to this race. In fact, it seems at this point the cronyism theme likely tests in favor of Gray among undecideds.

Fenty loses bid to allow independents to change parties. The mayor made a last minute appeal to the Board of Elections and Ethics to allow non-party affiliated voters to change affiliation in order to vote on September 14. As of July 31, there were nearly 80,000 registered voters with no party affiliation, and they will not be able to vote in the primary. The deadline to change parties has passed, so any remaining no-affiliation voters are out of luck. Freeman Klopott at the Examiner thinks this smells of desperation in the Fenty camp. I’d agree. Fenty likely thinks these unaffiliated voters would break for him, which may be the case since the largest numbers of no-party voters are in Wards 1-3. I think Gray campaign manager Adam Rubinson went a bit too far with the Hugo Chavez comparison, but this does seem to fall into a “kitchen sink” approach to getting more votes. It is a valid point to discuss–that nearly 16% of the electorate cannot vote in the de-facto election—but this should happen between elections, not during.

What’s next–dogs and cats living together? Mass Hysteria? Fenty sits down with the City Paper. Vince Gray loves Sex and the City.

Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Downtown, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, People, The District, The Features, WTF?!
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And For Mayor, We Endorse…

Photo courtesy of
‘Mayoralty elections (LOC)’
courtesy of ‘The Library of Congress’

As the countdown to voting day continues, many have asked us here at WeLoveDC just who we’re going to endorse for Mayor of the District. We’ve had a long and exhausting debate on our author email list, and quite frankly, we couldn’t come up with a unanimous choice, much less a majority decision. So instead, we decided to offer up our own endorsements for mayor, in our own words.

You may be surprised at who we picked. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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What would happen if Michael D. Brown wins the primary?

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’
When the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics released the final candidate list, I noticed a familiar name. Michael Brown. Even as someone who follows District politics compulsively, at first I was confused why a sitting at-Large Councilmember would be turning in a ballot petition. I realized it must be a different Michael Brown, and quickly discovered this was Michael D. Brown, one of D.C.’s shadow senators. I figured it was no big deal, he wasn’t running a campaign and that since the other Michael Brown was already sworn in, it would not affect the Mendelson-Ray match-up. If straw polls are any indication, however, I was wrong.

Last night Michael D. Brown narrowly defeated incumbent Phil Mendelson in the Ward 5 straw poll. Brown tallied 370 votes to Mendelson’s 350. Clark Ray placed third with 159 votes. Brown also bested Ray at the Ward 4 straw poll, coming in a close second to Mendelson. After the Ward 4 vote, some participants indicated they were confused and thought they were voting for sitting at-Large Councilmember Michael A. Brown. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The Features
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Campaign Notebook: August 20, 2010

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’
We’re nearing the home stretch here, with only 25 days to go until the primary. Expect to see campaigns across the city heat up in the final weeks, as candidates make their final pleas for votes, and take their final swipes at their opponents. The mayoral race is at once coming into focus and becoming ever more unpredictable. There’s only three more of these round-ups left to come, so let’s get to it. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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City Paper imagines a world with honest political ads

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The City Paper asks, “What if Vince Gray and Adrian Fenty were honest in their advertising?” and has produced a couple of hypothetical spots to explore the question. And they are brilliant.

But the CP staff is sure (and so are we) there there is more brilliance out there. So make your own honest mayoral race ad, tag it “Honest D.C. Ads” on YouTube, and join in the political mockery.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, The District
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New poll shows Gray with razor thin lead over Fenty

Photo courtesy of
‘vince gray blogger roundtable’
courtesy of ‘Dave Stroup’

The web is buzzing with the results of a new independent poll of the race for mayor. The poll, conducted independently by Clarus Research Group, has challenger Vincent Gray with a slim 3-point lead over incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty. In a sampling of 501 registered Democrats, Gray comes away with 39%, Fenty with 36%, Leo Alexander with 2%, and a whopping 22% undecided. Among those considered likely voters, Gray opens up a larger lead, 41% to 36%. The margin of error for this poll was +/- 4.4%.

Clarus also polled on the Council Chair race, and the results are roughly what was expected. Kwame Brown leads Vincent Orange 39% to 29%, with 29% undecided.

There are no real surprises in the poll, but if you’re a DC politics junkie it is fascinating stuff. We learn that most people in the city aren’t familiar with District Attorney General Peter Nickles–and those who do know him like him, 27% favorable, 18% unfavorable. MPD Chief Lanier gets 80% favorable, and Rhee is more divisive, as expected, 50% favorable, 35% unfavorable.

What does it all mean? The race is close. Super close. We already knew that. The numbers on Rhee are split down the middle, again not a surprise. The Nickles numbers show what us bloggers and commentators often forget–most people don’t read the same things we read. I bet you’d see similar numbers if you polled about Ron Moten. We’re going to see more ads about Fenty’s “results” and we’ll see more hits by Gray on Fenty’s personality and ‘cronyism.’ I’d venture a guess though that with Nickles’ numbers where they are, most people either don’t care or don’t know about the alleged cronyism. In essence, this poll merely confirmed what we all thought, this is going to be an extremely close election.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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2,600 change party affiliation ahead of primary

Photo courtesy of
‘Just in Time to Vote’
courtesy of ‘trazomfreak’

Apparently you all listened when we said it was time to make sure your voter registrations were up to date, and that you needed to be registered as a Democrat in order to vote in four weeks. 2,600+ of you changed your voter registrations as of yesterday, including 308 Republicans and 2,000+ who’d claimed no party of their own. This will definitely be a number that comes into the fore on September 15th, when we’re dissecting the results of the primary. 300 Republicans is good for Mayor Fenty, many of whom place their trust in Fenty on issues of education reform, but the 2,000+ “no party” affiliation folks, well, that could be just about anybody.

Good on everyone for getting their registrations handled well before election day, and in plenty of time for the primary. Four more weeks of campaign ads, campaigning, and watching those guys like hawks. I know that I, personally, am still undecided about this fall’s mayoral race. Where are you? Tell us in the comments.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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“Threatening display of magazines” at Vince Gray’s home

Photo courtesy of
‘Architecte’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Just when I thought any mention of Ron Moten, Peaceoholics, and the DC mayoral race couldn’t get any weirder or more childish comes this report in the Examiner that on Thursday night, Vince Gray arrived home to find four copies of the Peaceoholics’ magazine on his storm door in the shape of an X. Really. That happened. And the poor Examiner reporter was forced to write, with a straight face, that it was a “threatening display of magazines.”

I know I shouldn’t be surprised by, well, anything at all associated with Ron Moten at this point, but this shows remarkable half-assedness. Trying to have it both ways never works- either you’re intimidating because you’re all gritty from your work with offenders and potential offenders, or you’re an upstanding member of the community who deserves to be taken seriously. Paying a house call to someone you don’t like and leaving magazines stuck to his door in the shape of a letter of the alphabet is just… cartoonish.

All Politics is Local, The Features
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Campaign Notebook: August 13, 2010


P1040409
By Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

Welcome back for another issue of Campaign Notebook.  There are just 32 days until the Primary.  In little over a month, the hard decisions related to a lot of the city offices that are up for election in November will be completed, and we’ll have a mayor- and council chair-apparent. We’re gearing up for fever pitch here and there’s a lot going on.

Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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ANC Mary Cuthbert describes challenger with racial epithet

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We tweeted about this one early this morning, but it deserves mention here because advisory neighborhood commission (ANC) races aren’t covered in proportion to their importance to their immediate communities. Congress Heights on the Rise posted a video this morning of ANC Mary Cuthbert’s (8C03) argument with a challenger seeking signatures for his ballot petition, in which she refers to him as a “dumb nigger.” CHotR also includes examples of Cuthbert’s history of other misbehavior. (You can hear it at about 12 seconds in.)

In her role as part of ANC 8C, Cuthbert only represents about 2000 neighborhood residents, but since ANC commissioners are unpaid, volunteer positions, they frequently run unopposed. The small area they each represent means that individual commissioners often fly under the radars of the very residents whose interests they’re theoretically protecting, but they are elected officials just the same. This kind of behavior wouldn’t be tolerated from a City Council member, and there’s no reason to tolerate it from an ANC.

There are many fine ANCs out there who work in a thankless job. If yours is one of them, you should thank him or her. But if yours is not, you owe it to yourself and your neighbors to find out who the challengers are before Election Day. And have you considered running yourself?

All Politics is Local, News, The Daily Feed
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Wait, What? Post Endorses Vincent Orange

Photo courtesy of
‘Vincent Orange’
courtesy of ‘Daquella manera’

It was notable that the Post endorsed Adrian Fenty two weeks ago because of the date. This morning’s endorsement of former councilman Vincent Orange is remarkable because it seems their only significant issue is Kwame Brown’s personal debt. The Post praises Orange’s leadership and conviction, and his vote of “Present” on the selection of Attorney General Peter J. Nickles, but the editorial is entirely silent on the matters of policy facing the council now, or on the policy debates between Brown & Orange.

I have to say: the endorsements from the Post have not happened as I would have expected, and that perhaps their editorial board might be a bit divorced from day to day life in the District these days. I was thinking, that given the candidates in both the Mayor’s race and the Council Chair’s race, we would likely be facing a no-endorse statement, but it seems that the Post has weighed in early and peculiarly. What do you make of these endorsements?

All Politics is Local, The Features
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Campaign Notebook: August 5, 2010

Photo courtesy of
‘Signs0118’
courtesy of ‘Charlie_2001’

Good afternoon! It’s been a hell of a readjustment for me, I was in Stockholm all last week and I have been attempting to catch-up. We’re now only 39 days away from Primary Day, and we’ve got a lot of news to sift through. The biggest story, of course, is Vincent Gray’s upset victory at the Ward 4 straw poll. We’ve also got more news out of Ward 1, and an interesting twist in the at-Large contest. Here we go. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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Now’s the time: Run for ANC

Photo courtesy of
‘Clipboard and Pens’
courtesy of ‘robnguyen01’

You’re just 25 signatures away from running for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.  That’s it.  25 people in your Single Member District are all you need to get on this November’s ballot.  Last week we talked about how few seats are contested each election, now it’s your turn to do something about it.  74 people picked up petitions to run for ANC yesterday, and only one race is currently opposed.

The ANCs serve a crucial role in working with local businesses and with neighborhood planning, so if you care about jobs in your community, this is a great way to participate in that process. Time to pick up that petition and get to work, folks. Change starts at home, and this is the most granular part of the process. Get involved.

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Georgetown BID Unveils New Map

Photo courtesy of
‘The Old Town Georgetown’
courtesy of ‘Mylar Bono’

Georgetown’s BID debuted its new official Georgetown map featuring store listings, historic sites and more. Like most BID managed projects, the map heavily promotes the neighborhood’s businesses, but what really stood out to me are the two walking tours. One focuses on Georgetown locales where movies like Dave, True Lies, The American President, etc. were filmed. And the other features notable Kennedy residents and haunts. The map also lists the must-visit/dos sites of Georgetown, like the Old Stone House, Tudor Place and C&O Canal Boat Rides, etc.

The Georgetown BID is currently redefining the neighborhood’s “brand” with the help of Arlington’s The Roan Group. Not sure if the map is part of this project, but as a Georgetown frequenter, I think, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

All Politics is Local, Crime & Punishment, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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Help Solve Animal Cruelty Cold Case In Northeast

Photo courtesy of
‘McGruff looks pissed’
courtesy of ‘MikeOliveri’

Some disturbing news coming out of the Northeast today. Apparently, Washington Humane Society officers are heavily investigating two cases of cold-blooded animal murder and they’re looking for help in solving these senseless and heinous crimes.

In April an innocent opossum and her ten babies were stoned to death in an alley behind 16th Street, NE and a month later an innocent cat was brutally found stoned to death on the 200 block of Maryland Avenue, NE.

National studies have shown that individuals who commit these senseless acts of animal cruelty are seven times more likely to commit other anti-social acts such as violence towards people. So this individual or individuals pose a risk to the entire DC community.

If you have any information regarding these heinous crimes, please contact the Humane Law Enforcement Department at 202-BE HUMANE. All calls are confidential.

All Politics is Local, Crime & Punishment, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, News, Special Events, The District, WMATA
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NTSB Finds Systemic WMATA Safety Issues From Red Line Crash Investigations

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Today in a five hour long hearing, (not including a one hour long lunch break) the NTSB released their findings on the 2009 Red Line crash. Chairwoman Hersman kick off the hearing with opening remarks that highlighted the thoroughness of the report, the importance of its findings and immediate need for WMATA to take action to rectify what Hersman called “WMATA’s anemic safety culture.”

As Tom pointed out earlier today, many of the findings had already been unearthed. NTSB Engineer Payan spent a good length of time both describing and fielding questions about the failures of the Automated Train Operation (ATO) system and the WEE-Z bond sensors that caused the first train to essentially disappear from the track circuitry sensors and made the second train speed up and, tragically, slam into the first train. Prior to the crash, circuit failures like this were happening so often that WMATA employees became desensitized to the alerts and would ignore them. More shocking is that since the crash, WMATA has identified about 290 track circuits capable of this same failure and has not replaced them. No word on if WMATA is currently paying more attention to the alerts. Continue reading →

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Downtown, Dupont Circle, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District, The Hill, The Mall
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DDOT Unveils Historic DC Photos

Photo courtesy of
‘MacArthur Marquee’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

After years of scouring, the DDOT historians have posted some fantastic photos of our beloved city from the 1940s thru the 1960s to their Flickr account. The set features cityscapes from all over the district, including an awesome shot from an open air parking lot on H Street NE, a Harlem-esque looking F & 13th Street, and Tenley Circle with streetcar tracks.

My favorite pic is the shot of Rosslyn looking over the Key Bridge to DC taken in 1945.  It’s amazing to think of the now skyscraper filled neighborhood as only having two and three storied buildings. Some may remember one of last remaining relics of that era, Tom Sarris Orleans House, which tragically closed in 2008. That place was definitely a DC insiders go to.

All Politics is Local, The Features
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Campaign Notebook, July 22, 2010

Photo courtesy of
‘DC and US Flags’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Last week the feeling was game on. This week, 53 days out from the primary, there hasn’t been any notable shift in momentum in the Mayoral race. Kwame Brown’s personal debt is still making the rounds in the Council chair race, and there’s been some rumblings in the races in Ward 1 and Ward 5. Let’s get to it, shall we? Continue reading →

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Entertainment, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Michelle Obama To Throw Out First Pitch At Tonight’s O’s Game

Photo courtesy of
‘It’s Michelle!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

If you’ve got tickets to tonight’s Baltimore Orioles game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Camden yards, be sure to get their on time because Michelle Obama will not only be bringing the heat as she fires out the first pitch, but also increased levels of security.

Mrs. Obama will be escorted to the mound by kids from the RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program and the Boys and Girls Club. The RBI program started John Young, a former Major League Baseball player and scout, provides disadvantaged youth with the opportunity to learn and enjoy the game of baseball. Originally a local program for boys in South Central Los Angeles, the program, now in its 21st year, has grow to more than 200 cities and as many as 120,000 male and female participants a year.