It is a year away, but the D.C. Mayor’s race is already becoming the top political circus in our tiny territory. Candidacy announcements, like last week’s from city council heavyweights Linda Cropp (D-At Large) and Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4), are coming fast and furious, and outside political activists are getting involved-some for the first time.
Last week, black and white “Think Cropp” signs blanketed much of the District. The sign campaign was conceived and paid for by national political consultant L. Maurice Daniel’s “Think D.C.” Political Action Committee. Though technically unconnected with Cropp’s mayoral campaign, the action’s timing closely coincided with the Council Chairman’s announcement of her candidacy.
Daniel and his wife S. Kathryn Allen, a former city official and the treasurer of the Committee, formed the organization to get D.C. residents to give more thought to the local political process.
“We see how important local leadership is in the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, and it’s not a far stretch of the imagination to see D.C. undergoing a similar catastrophe,” Daniel said. “People need to give (local elections) the gravity they deserve.”
Daniel, who has worked for former Vice-President Al Gore and former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Iowa) and currently heads a direct-mail consulting firm that works on Congressional and State races, decided to get involved with city politics only recently.
“As I get older and become more invested in the city, I become more involved,” Daniel said. “I’m not running to a different state for three months to campaign anymore.”
Last weekend also marked the candidacy announcement of Fenty, one of the council’s young Turks and Cropp’s most dangerous opponent. Daniel and other observers believe Mayor Anthony Williams will not be running for re-election in 2006. Williams has yet to form a campaign staff or begin raising money, and he has let several key supporters ally themselves with other candidates, according to Daniel.
With Cropp in the Mayoral race, Georgetown’s council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) has decided to run for Chair of the council, after flirting briefly with a mayoral campaign of his own. A few other council members have decided to run or at least have publicly considered entering the race, but thus far no leader has emerged.
For now, neither Fenty nor Cropp has openly attacked their opponent, but they’re already dropping hints. Fenty styles his campaign as one of progress, while Cropp is running as the candidate of experience. Neither one has gained an edge yet, but this will be a race to watch for, Hoyas. With issues like affordable housing on the table, it will pay to keep our ears open-just as soon as the candidates start talking about the issues.
