R. Donahue Peebles has had his say regarding the 2010 mayoral race.
So, now, has the Washington Post.
Which brings up the next question: What does Cardell Shelton have to say about the matter?
Shelton is, of course, the ultimate backyard D.C. politico. He roves around town in a beat-up pickup, with Old Glory jutting up from bunch of junk in back. He is the duly elected representative of advisory neighborhood commission district 8C07. He can rip into Marion S. Barry Jr. like no other person on earth. He sticks up for the rights of small, D.C.-based contractors—-masons and carpenters and such.
And here’s what this man has to say about the incumbent in this year’s mayoral race:
“He’s a tarantular dictator.”
Whoa, hold on a second, Mr. Shelton. Are you saying that Adrian M. Fenty is, like, a “tyrannical” dictator, as in an all-out dictator, or “tarantular,” as in the “large southern European spider once thought to be the cause of tarantism (uncontrollable bodily movement)“?
The latter, claimed Shelton, advancing the argument: “Not only is he a spider, he is the king. He’s the new dictator, the emperor of the District of Columbia. No one questions his bidding. He’s arrogant, and along with his arrogance, he has a personal persona that the only was it’s going to get done is his way and only his way.”
At that point, Shelton drifted off into a somewhat technical discussion on how local tradespeople and craftsmen aren’t getting enough jobs on District construction sites, and how Fenty is a big part of the problem. If you’ve ever interviewed Shelton before, this is the moment when you listen for a few minutes, wait for a tough-to-identify pause in his rant, and steer him back to the original topic.
So, anything else on Vince Gray v. Fenty?
“I think Fenty—-he needs to retire, and I, along with a whole community of people, are going to put forth our best efforts this election year to get him out of office and if Vince Gray runs, I along with a whole community that I’m talking to now…we will form a coalition and do all we can to get him out of office. He does not represent the common people. He is too pompous, he is too, he is too arrogant and he is too self-c……”