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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Kwame Brown: The Adrian Fenty of Media Strategists? Liveable, Walkable Libraries
Good morning sweet readers! LL’s bean is now sleeping through the night, which ought to be a celebrated with a national holiday. News time:
“I Know It Was You, Tommy! You Broke My Heart. You Broke My Heart!”: How do you turn something as inside baseball as committee assignments into a big news story? Simple, sprinkle on some revenge, and voila! Council Chairman Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown‘s decision to strip Ward 6 Councilmemeber Tommy Wells of his beloved transportation committee is now leading the news cycle, getting big play in the papers, radio, and on TV (complete with b-roll of Lincoln Navigators, which LL suspects wasn’t what Brown had in mind). Brown says the move wasn’t motivated by Wells’ investigation of Navigatorgate, but that denial is having little effect on how the story is being told. The Post is now even describing Wells as Brown’s “nemesis.” (LL would like to welcome back Postie Tim Craig from a reporting tour in Baghdad. Enjoyed the tweets abroad, Tim.) The Post notes perhaps the most important part of yesterday’s drama: “As Brown tries to jump-start his agenda while fending off what he views as unfair media attacks on his character, he appears to be working to guarantee that he can count on a veto-proof majority. ‘He needed some realignment to get things done,’ said Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), a Brown ally.” Boom! Locking down his seven votes. Who is going with him?
AFTER THE JUMP: More on Committeereassignmentgate; Guns, cigars, taxes; Economic Development Irony…
More Kwame v. Wells: Postie Mike DeBonis has a smart take on the politics behind Brown’s move, that includes stabs at why Wells might have had it coming, how he might now become the a lone crusader for good government, and what this means for Brown’s political future. The story also features a quote from Brown ally, Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, that illustrates why her and Wells’ relationship will likely be described as “strained” in the days ahead. “Told this morning that Wells and his “livable, walkable” philosophy have a devoted following among young progressives, Cheh said, ‘That’s a slogan. … Where’s the record?… I’ve passed major legislation. I’ll say ‘livable, walkable.’ If I say it enough, will that be OK?'” Good thing she’s got a park and half the city between her ward and Wells, eh? Wells self-expresses via Twitter. And the Post editorial board continues to beat the living crap out of the council, with another blistering editorial that calls Wells’ colleagues “the too gutless to stand up to the petty politics of Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown.” Man, if this were the olden days such a declaration would have to be settled via a dual. Nobody, calls me chicken.
Also from the council meeting yesterday: the District won’t be a gun dealer; cigar smoking at fight night shall not be denied; Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser gets Wells’ spot on Metro board; Cheh acted like she wanted to raise income taxes on the wealthy (but didn’t); and the council dipped into its reserves to fund a one-year “reprieve” on the new muni-bond tax.
Irony: Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. lost the economic development committee in part because he’s under investigation by the feds. Brown added a good chunk of the that committee to his own portfolio even though he’s also under investigation by the feds.
In Other News:
- Jonetta says CFO Nat Gandhi, Mayor Vince Gray and Councilmember Michael Brown “conspired” to bring online gambling to the District, says there are better ways of raising money.
- House committee to take up D.C. budget.
- Some big names included on list of those owing the city property taxes.
Gray sked: Baseball camp at 8:30 a.m.; Presser at 10 a.m.
Council: COW, at noon.