We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
sinclair skinner’s cartoonish performance as pitchman for crime-scene nightspots such as Club U, Between Friends, and Kili’s Kafé is what compelled Ward 1 voters to drive him out of office as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. His clumsy, racially charged, and homophobic rhetoric and persistence in trying to keep these public-safety nuisances open despite the overwhelming sentiment of constituents of every race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and income could not have been more dogged had Skinner been on the club owners’ payroll.
That Adrian Fenty has kept this guy in his employ in a responsible campaign position is mystifying, and the candidate’s quibbling responses suggest something of a tin ear, an enormous blind spot, or a troubling lack of courage—not the sort of qualities the District needs in a mayor these days. The thought of a mayor beholden to the likes of Sinclair Skinner for advice, the administration of government, or the dispensation of patronage should cause Fenty supporters to reconsider their choice and vote for someone with better judgement.
Shaw