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:
Josh Lopez Raises More than $6,000 Jacque Patterson Alleges Serious Arm-Twisting For Biddle
Good morning sweet readers! LL’s bean weighed in at 12.5 pounds yesterday, putting him in the 95th percentile for his age. Normal parents might have been pleased with that result, but LL has decided to be a tiger mother, and consequently spent most of last night calling his son names and trying to express disappointment in ways only a one-month-old kid could understand. This better pay off with a prodigy. News time:
Money With No Strings Attached: Campaign finance reports were due yesterday, and we learned a couple of things: 1) Incumbency has its advantages (duh): Newly appointed At-Large Councilmember Sekou Biddle blew everyone away with a $53,000 haul that included plenty of high-dollar checks from developers and other business interests. 2) Jacque Patterson isn’t going away: Patterson raised more than $20,000, despite having what he alleges is the Democratic establishment trying to push him out of the race by threatening his campaign staff with fewer career options. 3) Mystery candidate Arkan Haile raised more than $7,800, much of which came from people in Colorado. 4) Vincent Orange raised $0 for his at-large bid, though he did raise $8,500 to pay some bills related to his failed council chairman campaign. 5) Josh Lopez had a big final push that brought his total to north of $8,600. 6) Bryan Weaver either didn’t file a report, or it’s not posted by the Office of Campaign Finance. 7) Republican candidate Pat Mara only raised $2,650, which comes out to be about $5 for every person who has watched this video. Biggest surprise to LL: Patterson’s $20,000 take, that shows he’s for real.
AFTER THE JUMP: More moves in the at-large race, Kaya Henderson speaks, José Serrano comes to D.C.’s defense, and Mary Cheh’s election calendar action…
More on the At-Large Race: Money aside, there was plenty of action in the at-large race yesterday. LL reported on Patterson’s allegations that elected officials in the city are trying to make it uncomfortable for him and his campaign staff to stay in the race. The Post reported that Weaver and Patterson were upset that the D.C. Democratic State Committee sent out an e-mail on behalf of Biddle’s campaign. And DCist does the most comprehensive story, noting that “the problem is that in circling the wagons for Biddle, it may be Biddle that comes off looking worse for the wear. When we spoke to Biddle last week, he was quick to push back against the accusation that he was ever an insider candidate … But with the city’s political establishment and preeminent political party moving earth and water to secure him more than a four-month tenure on the D.C. Council, Biddle has to fight to appeal to voters that may well be turned off by such overt political machinations.”
Q & A Cafe: Post education reporter Bill Turque probably forced an intern to spend the entire day transcribing his interview with interim Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. Says Henderson: “… There are absolutely reasons why I would totally want this job and absolutely reasons why I would totally not want this job. The truth of the matter is I have to figure that out. At the same time besides me there’s the question around what is the best thing for the District, what’s the best thing for Mayor [Vince] Gray. He didn’t pick me. We all made an arrangement around what it would take to keep the school district stabilized through June 30. BT: He didn’t pick you? KH: When it became clear that Michelle [Rhee] was leaving, Chairman Gray didn’t have the opportunity to look out and say, ‘Alright who should I pick as my chancellor? I think it should be Kaya Henderson. The question was how do we ensure that the school district remains on solid footing. BT: But you were not the only route he could have gone for that. KH: Oh no, not at all. But let’s not fool ourselves. He didn’t have the opportunity to examine the entire field. I think he’s taken that into consideration and he will come to whatever decision he thinks is best.”
Thanks for the Warning: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is warning of congressional meddling in local affairs, saying there are “early signs of ignoring or trampling on D.C.’s home-rule choices.” Duh. Meanwhile, former benevolent overlord Rep. José Serrano, a New York Democrat from the Bronx, issued a fiery press release telling Republican House members to “lay off” the District. “The Republicans’ shamelessly undemocratic moves have been couched in the false cover of ‘respect for the Constitution.’ The Constitution does indeed set out DC’s unique relationship with the federal powers that reside within its borders, but there is no proof that it envisions Congress making second class citizens of the District residents. The strict Constitutionalists on the other side of the aisle would do well to work to bring equality to DC residents rather than a separate and unfair system for people living there,” Serrano says.
Too Early: Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh is set to introduce a bill that would bring the District’s election dates in compliance with federal laws and move the 2012 primary to the summer. LL foresees a lot of belly aching as this bill moves forward.
In other news: Whistleblowing U.S. Park Police chief is back in her old gig. City still a complete mess when it comes to leaving scandalous amounts of Medicaid funding on the table due to sheer incompetence. Adrian Fenty gets to pick which charities will get the $436,000 he left office with in his constituent services account. Study finds fatal accidents have decreased 26 percent at intersections with red-light cameras. Pepco’s got more excuses. MPD to start arresting people for playing music too loud. Gray and Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. visit the intersection where a man was senselessly killed. Committee of 100 likes streetcar plans, mostly. Quit acting like the control board is a serious threat to come back.
Sekou Biddle gets to sound off about Pepco on Newstalk with Bruce DePuyt at 10 a.m., Bryan Weaver gets to show off his typing skills with a 1 p.m. chat at Greater Greater Washington.
Council is in session today. On the agenda: a resolution honoring Chuck Brown.
Gray sked: 11 a.m. Memorial service for D.C. firefighter Marc Dancy; Noon visit with employees of department of healthcare finance; 7:30 p.m. meeting with Palisades community group.