A deliberative roundup of one city’s local politics. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
The Crucial Maryland Vote?
Make That the Fighting 45 Kwame Brown’s Hagaddah
Good afternoon sweet readers! Sorry for the delay of this roundup. LL had to get to the Wilson Building to watch Mayor Vince Gray cut the ribbon on a new Bikeshare station. Gray posed for pictures straddling a bike, but did not ride it, much to the seeming chagrin of Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells. The burning question: Does the mayor even know how to ride a bike? News time:
Oh You Fancy, Huh?: The WaPo editorial board lowered the boom on at-large candidate Vincent Orange yesterday for his “hypocrisy” in loving the Post when it comes time to printing up mailers, while hating the Post when it comes time for protesting with the Washington Teachers Union. “One would be hard-pressed, though, to find a more cynical display of political duality than Mr. Orange’s use of our words to promote his Democratic candidacy for an at-large seat on the council while simultaneously joining in a protest denouncing The Post. If Mr. Orange can’t seem to make up his mind about whether we should be believed or boycotted, what does that suggest about his ability to withstand pressure in governing the city?” Yeah, what does it say when a politician panders to a special interest group? Oh, wait. The winner of the editorial: Pat Mara, who gets to remind everyone again that he won the coveted Post endorsement. Mara also wants you to know that he’s not an orange, while Orange tells the Post that he plans on spending pretty much all of this $134,000 on “late mailings, ‘meals and transportation,’ as well as other staples of a District campaign”
AFTER THE JUMP: Jock Tax; SBOE Picks; DYRS Problems…
Throw Me a Frickin Bone: Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans got his picture on the front page of the Washington Times, by proposing a change to the Home Rule Charter that would let the District tax millionaire atheletes whenever they play in the District. “Mr. Evans promised that his proposal will be limited to pro athletes, yet acknowledged the bill will require ‘the acquiescence’ of representatives from Maryland and Virginia. ‘We’ve gotten the raw end on so many other things,’ Mr. Evans said. ‘This is a bone that someone can throw us, to be honest.'” Man, does this guy love taxes or what?
SBOE Picks: Pity the poor uncovered State Board of Education races in Wards 4 and 8, which have received virtually no press coverage. Fortunately, the Examiner‘s Jonetta Rose Barras lets us know who she would like to see win: In Ward 8, “Trayon White Sr. has been endorsed by the Washington Teacher’s Union and Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry. The 26-year-old nonprofit executive may have promise, but some of his policies conflict with the current reform agenda. The better choice in Ward 8 is between Philip Pannell and Eugene Dewitt Kinlow.” In Ward 4, “An Almquist, a visiting professor at the University of the District of Columbia with expertise in special education, and Andrew Moss, a former elementary school teacher and lawyer, bring records of achievements. But D. Kamili Anderson, whom I met years ago when our children attended the same school, is the best person for the post. Her children graduated from D.C. Public Schools; her grandchildren currently are enrolled in Ward 4 schools.”
In Other News: DYRS problems are now all Gray’s. The District now can, but probably won’t, sue Omar Karim’s Banneker Ventures. Homeless families not part of one city. DC needs 22 fire investigators? How much arson is going on in this town? Will former DDOT director Gabe Klein be moving to Chicago? Yes. Will he get there by bike? Not sure.