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MARION BARRY JR.
MAYOR

Statement by Mayor Marion Barry Regarding His Endorsement of a Mayoral Candidate

“Barry Takes Neutral Position in the Mayoral Race”

“On September 15th of this year, all voters of the District of Columbia will have an opportunity to vote for their respective party nominees for the Office of Mayor, and six members of the City Council.

This is a very important election in that the Mayor and the City Council will have the responsibility, in addition to other duties, of leading us back to democracy, when the Financial Authority is de-activated sometime in the year 2001.

A number of people have asked me who I am supporting for Mayor. Let me just say that the candidates and the campaign for Mayor have not generated a great deal of enthusiasm. And at the same time, the electorate does not seem to be enthusiastic about the opportunity to make the important decision about who will represent them.

For a campaign as important as this one, one would expect to see candidates who are strong, focused and clear on their vision for the future of this city. 1 know all the candidates who are running. I have worked with them and talked with most of them; I have observed how they are taking their candidacies to the people of Washington.

At the very beginning, the mayoral campaign was rather 'lackluster' and very few issues were being discussed. However, over time, the energy level and focus on issues have given me and other voters more time to assess the candidates and make an informed decision. Therefore, after much thought and prayers, I have decided not to endorse any particular candidate for mayor.

1 came to this conclusion because it is important that the voters focus on the candidates’ visions, or lack thereof, their programs and the direction in which they intend to take the city.

If I were to endorse any particular individual, then my endorsement would become the issue. There would be great debates as to why I endorsed one person over another — we don’t need this debate. The campaign does not deserve this kind of distraction. We need to focus clearly on the candidates themselves and what they represent for the District. It is well known that I have a broad and diverse base of support and many of my supporters are working for the various candidates. As such, I do not want to cause my supporters any anguish by working for the candidate of their choice and not the one I endorse.

To my supporters I say, ‘Support the candidate of your choice who has similar values and priorities as you and I do; support the candidate who can best be counted on to always stand up and fight for the citizens of the District; who can best manage this very complex government, and who can best keep the D.C. government on the road to financial solvency. Support the candidate who can best speak up for us, as citizens, when we are disrespected by some members of the media and some members of the Congress; support the candidate who will fight for and favor a summer job for every young person who desires one.

Support the candidate who can best advocate and ensure that the majority of D.C. contracts are let to qualified local small and disadvantaged businesses; the candidate who can best ensure a quality environment and life for our senior citizens; who can best advocate and ensure the delivery of government services to the masses, including the lost, the last and the least.

Support the candidate who can best ensure that the Police Department will continue its community policing and put more police officers on the streets of Washington; who can best continue the development of our downtown and our neighborhoods. support the candidate who will promote the best educational system for our children and who will support the only institution of higher education in the District that offers an affordable college education for many who otherwise could not attend college.

Finally, support the candidate who can best treat D.C. government employees with respect, dignity and fairness; And most importantly, support the candidate who can best inspire us, the citizens, with a feeling of hope. When you consider this kind of scorecard, then you will become more independent and critical in your thinking and in your choice for Mayor and City Council. When you exercise this type of informed decision-making, no one, absolutely no one, can take you for granted. You can then hold your elected officials' feet to the fire and make them accountable to you. And you can hold them accountable by the standards and the issues you have personally chosen and not by the endorsement of Marion Barry.

No one should throw their support behind a candidate merely because Marion Barry told them. Residents should put each candidates’ record up against their scorecard and grade them A, B, C, or F on issues such as safe streets, better schools or a greater police presence in their communities. Whoever comes closest to the top grade, then he/she should get your much sought after electoral support.

In this way, when the winning candidate assumes the mantle of Mayor on January 2, 1999, then you, the same men and women who put him or her in office, can then hold that person completely accountable by your own standards.”