Ward 8’s candidates have avoided public attacks on one another, despite not suffering from a lack of material. But now hopeful Eugene Kinlow has found a target for his ire: an anonymous American government official in Kenya.

Kinlow’s gripe with the unnamed figure comes from a February New York Times story on Kenya. In it, the official argues that blanket American travel warnings about the Kenyan coast are a bad idea, since some Kenyan neighborhoods are safer than Washington ones.

“There are neighborhoods in Washington, Anacostia, for example, that are way more dangerous than [Kenyan beach towns] Nyali or Diani,” the official told the Times.

Kinlow, whose surprisingly high fundraising totals have kept him competitive in the 16-person race, isn’t taking the comparison lightly.

“There are public safety concerns in Ward 8, just as there are across the city,” Kinlow says in the release. “But to compare them to the attacks seen in Kenya, where grenades are used to target innocent people at bus stations, is unconscionable.”

In his release, Kinlow demands an apology from the comparison-happy official. Of course, it’d help to actually know his or her name first.

Kinlow’s full press release:

Washington, DC – Today, Eugene D. Kinlow issued the following statement in response to the comments made by a U.S. State Department official that suggested neighborhoods in Washington, DC, particularly those in Wards 7 & 8, are more dangerous than areas of Kenya.

“I am deeply disappointed that a U.S. official would make such negative comments about Anacostia and Ward 8 that serve to further the negative stereotypes about this community, and I demand that this official issue an immediate apology to our residents,” said Eugene D. Kinlow, candidate for Ward 8 DC Council. “There are public safety concerns in Ward 8, just as there are across the city, but to compare them to the attacks seen in Kenya, where grenades are used to target innocent people at bus stations, is unconscionable.”

Photo by Will Sommer