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Elissa Silverman, a former Loose Lips who also used to write for the Washington Post, announced today that she’s running for the D.C. Council at-large seat in the special election to be held in April. Silverman just took a leave of absence from her gig as a budget wonk (but not a lobbyist!) for the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, a left-wing budget advocacy group.
Like several other declared candidates, Silverman plans to make government ethics a centerpiece of her campaign pitch and noted today in a news release that she will not accept corporate donations. Silverman was part of a group that recently tried unsuccessfully to put a referendum on the November ballot asking voters whether corporate campaign giving should be banned. Former Ward 3 Councilmember Kathy Patterson is Silverman’s campaign chairwoman.
Silverman joins a growing list of candidates that includes a pro-marijuana decriminalization lawyer, a film festival organizer, an education advocate, newly minted Councilmember Anita Bonds, soon-to-be-former Councilmember Michael Brown (well, maybe), and Republican school board member Pat Mara. LL suspects the requirement that candidates submit 3,000 valid signatures from D.C. voters a month from now should thin the herd a bit.
Also separating the players from the pretenders will be the candidates’ ability to raise money. If the giving pattern for this election is similar to past races, then Silverman’s pledge not to take corporate donations will put her at a sizable disadvantage. (That could be offset by the fawning coverage her former colleagues in the press will provide to one of their own. Just kidding. For the record, LL never worked with Silverman, nor did any of LL’s editors. LL mostly knows her as the advocate who once accused LL of being a stooge for the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.)
Photo by Darrow Montgomery