Since he began his campaign this spring, Republican at-large council candidate Patrick Mara hasn’t been shy about associating himself with Democratic Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, namechecking, for instance, his support of the mayoral schools takeover.

But with his new campaign literature, which he’s been passing around since last weekend, Mara’s taken his Fenty association to a new level:

Candidate and mayor arm-in-arm, and Mara’s wearing Fenty’s signature green! The picture, Mara tells LL, was taken at the Sept. 14 Adams Morgan Day. Fenty spokesperson Mafara Hobson says, no surprise, her boss still hasn’t made an official endorsement in the race and that Mara didn’t ask permission to use the pic. No big deal, she says, since language on Mara’s lit didn’t suggest an endorsement from Hizzoner.

Of course, when it comes using a photo op to drape yourself in another politician’s popularity, Mara’s got nothing on Kwame Brown: