Dear Mr. Hunter:

I passed a few of your volunteers today. On my way to my polling place at 1640 Columbia Road NW, I spotted a Hunter volunteer passing out your glossy pamphlets. I regret not taking the literature. When I took a ballot, I looked for your name. There was Bill Richardson. There was Obama. There was Hillary. I didn’t think you were running for president. I mean we don’t need another Washington Insider, especially someone who was a former counsel to the “Council Committee on Health and Human Services.”

But I did think: Dee Hunter, where are you? You must be running for something. After I voted, my lingering thought was: Did I miss voting for an office where you were an option. The thought made me feel sad and stupid. You really weren’t running for anything today.

I learned this fact from one of your volunteers, Yashica Hawkins. Ms. Hawkins was kind enough to explain to me that you were running for an At-Large Council seat in November. Ms. Hawkins was also kind enough to tell me that I wasn’t the only dumb person out there.

“They think he’s on the ballot for today,” she told me of the Adams Morgan electorate.

I replied that I didn’t think it was a good idea for you to be confusing people. Ms. Hawkins disagreed. But she did confess that maybe you should have had her pass out your pamphlets in a few months—like in the spring.

“It’s too cold to be standing out here,” Ms. Hawkins complained. She told me she was getting $125 for the day plus a Popeye’s lunch (two-piece plus biscuit and fries). She said it was too cold to bother with a free drink.

Anyway. Thanks a lot for making me feel stupid.