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Dear Fora Attendees:
I’m writing this introduction to themail on Wednesday evening at
the Ward 4 Democratic Party forum for mayoral candidates. The room holds
only a few hundred people, but it is packed, and a few hundred more are
outside. More members of the press are here to cover this forum than at
any previous one; six from the Washington Post alone. Fenty
supporters from all wards of the city got here early, even though they
can’t vote in the straw poll, and took most of the chairs inside the
room. They’re rowdy, despite repeated requests from the Ward 4
Democratic Party chairwoman not to applaud, cheer, or boo, shouting
their support for Fenty and heckling Gray. Contrary to the stereotype
that has dominated this campaign, the Fenty supporters who turned out
tonight are not white yuppies who recently moved into the city. Instead,
they’re older and black, many of whom I recognize as past supporters
of Marion Barry — even though Marion is here himself tonight wearing a
sticker supporting Gray. Fenty’s wife, Michelle, attends; this may be
the first public campaign event she has come to, but she leaves at 6:30
p.m., a half hour before the meeting begins. Many administration
officials, including cabinet members, are here to support Fenty. Another
large and noisy group of Fenty supporters is wearing orange t-shirts.
They’re not supporters of City Council Chair candidate Vincent Orange,
though; they’re members of LiUNA, Laborers Local 667. They leave
early, at 8:00 p.m., because they have to be bussed back to Baltimore.
At the start of the forum, the loudest of the shouters is Ward 4
Councilmember Muriel Bowser, who yells “fact” more than twenty times
during Fenty’s two-minute introductory statement. When Bowser moves
and quiets down, her job as chief cheerleader is passed to Ron Moten,
who sits on the floor directly in front of the candidates, throwing gang
hand signs at Fenty’s opponents until forum moderator Bruce Johnson
asks him to stop.
The biggest issue of the night is introduced by a comment from fellow
candidate Leo Alexander, who accuses Fenty and Gray of working together
to pass the budgets that have raided the rainy day fund. Gray’s
response is that he wished the mayor and the city council had worked
together, but that Fenty has not agreed to meet with him once in the
past seven months; Fenty rose to rebut many statements Gray made, but he
didn’t deny that. What is surprising is how sharp, pointed, funny, and
well-received by the whole crowd are the barbs that all of the minor
candidates — Ernest Johnson, Sulaimon Brown, and Alexander — point
at both of the major candidates, Gray and Fenty.
Fenty has turned into an angry, mean, attack dog of a candidate, far
from the confident incumbent with the huge war chest that he should be
at this stage of the campaign; and Gray is running with a front-runner’s
certitude. It’s the world turned upside down from the expectations of
six months ago. At the end of the forum, few minds have probably been
changed but, with many of Fenty’s supporters already gone, the cheers
inside the room are much louder for Gray than for Fenty. But the chants
outside the forum are “Four more years.” As we publish themail, the
Ward 4 Democrats are doing a recount to confirm the straw poll results,
but the preliminary results show Gray winning with 59 percent of the
vote.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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West’s Ascension, Gandhi’s Requiem
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
According to Mayor Fenty’s press office, he swore in Togo West as a
member of the DC Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE) on Tuesday
afternoon. The swearing-in ceremony was not carried on the mayor’s
public schedule, it was not announced in a press release, and no photo
has been posted on the mayor’s web page. Given West’s high profile
national status, it is curious that Fenty would hold a secretive,
stealthy event rather than giving the swearing-in wide publicity.
On Tuesday, the city council voted seven (Gray, Mendelson, Michael
Brown, Kwame Brown, Cheh, Thomas, and Alexander) to four (Catania,
Evans, Bowser, Wells) — Graham and Barry being absent — not to
confirm Mital Gandhi to a seat on the BOEE. Gandhi almost immediately
sent an intemperate and childish E-mail to councilmembers and the press
denouncing the decision. As Mike DeBonis commented in his online column,
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/debonis/2010/08/mital_gandhi_proves_he_was_not.html,
“Not since Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert slammed LeBron James for
leaving town has a potentially questionable decision been so instantly
validated.”
Footnote: following the council vote, I received an E-mail from a
former senior manager at the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation
Administration, on whose board Gandhi serves. The E-mail said of Gandhi’s
tenure on the ABC Board: “I found him to be one of the least ethical
people that I had to work with in my thirty-five years in law
enforcement.” The council voted correctly.
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Franklin Coalition Applauds Gray Stand on
Franklin School as Home for UDC Law School
Joseph L. Browne, franklinschooldc@gmail.com
Mayoral Candidate Vincent Gray responded to a question that he could
think of no better use for the Franklin School building at 13th and K
Streets, NW, than for it to house the David A. Clarke School of Law.
Gray was responding to questions at a “meet and greet” evening in
Cleveland Park on Tuesday evening, August 2. I could not agree more with
Council Chair Gray’s proposal.
The Fenty Administration issued a Request for Proposals in September
2009 geared toward private uses. The city received three proposals in
response — a charter school that had been previously rejected, a
boutique hotel, and the Coalition suggestion of possible educational
uses. Although the process closed in January 2010, the Fenty
Administration has remained silent on the future of the historic
building. The Coalition views private, commercial development as “incompatible
with the spirit and history of the building and inappropriate for a site
that the taxpayers of the District of Columbia have supported for over
140 years.” The Coalition for Franklin School supports continued city
control of the landmarked building facing Franklin Square and believes
that the historic Franklin School and the David A. Clarke School of Law
are a logical pairing that would be supported by the entire community.
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The Fenty Campaign has a total disregard for citizens and their
rights. Today I returned home to find a Fenty sign posted in my front
yard, covering up my Vince Gray for Mayor sign.
It shows the trouble the campaign is in along with the terrible
mindset that they have for being greedy and tacky. It proves the point
that they have very little regard for voters’ making up their own
minds and supporting who they feel will be the best choice.
It only instills in me that my thoughts are even more correct and
that I must do everything I can to see that Gray is elected as our next
mayor. Thanks, guys, for making the decision all that much easier.
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Infant Mortality Rises in the District
Hye Sook Chung, DC Action for Children, info@dckids.org
The Annie E. Casey Foundation released its annual Kids Count report
last week, and the news is decidedly mixed for infants and toddlers in
the District. On one hand, many indicators of childhood well-being
showed improvement since 2000, including the percentage of low-birth
weight babies, mortality rates for children ages one through fourteen,
and the percentage of children living in poverty (down 13 percent, but
still frighteningly high at 26 percent of all children).
But during that time, infant mortality rates rose. Across the
District, the rate spiked by 9 percent to 13.1 infant deaths per one
thousand live births in 2007. The rate was much worse in Ward 8, at
twenty infant deaths per one thousand live births. While infant
mortality is improving across the country, it’s rising in the nation’s
capital. What does this say about our priorities? What does it say about
our future? Clearly, we are failing to protect our youngest and most
vulnerable citizens when they need our help most — when it is truly a
matter of life and death.
In the coming weeks, DC Action for Children and our partners from DC’s
Home Visiting Council will go behind the Kids Count numbers to answer
these questions and propose solutions on our blog at http://www.dcactionforchildren.org/blog_entries.
We hope you will join the discussion. Keep up to date on news and issues
affecting DC’s youngest citizens by following us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ActforDChildren)
and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Action-for-Children/129524903754668?ref=ts).
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Department of Parks and Recreation Events,
August 5-10
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
August 5-August 8, 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., National Hershey Track and
Field Games, Hershey, PA, for ages nine through fourteen. The following
individuals have qualified for the National Hershey Track and Field
Games and will receive an all expense paid trip to Hershey, PA. This is
Juwan Hikim’s third year qualifying. He placed third in the softball
throw during the 2009 National Hershey Games. Brandon Jones (9-10),
standing long jump, Turkey Thicket; Cortez Kinard (9-10), softball
throw, Lamond; Kaylah Smith (11-12), softball throw, Ridge Road; Fahirah
Crews (13-14), softball throw, Kenilworth; Juwan Hikim (13-14), softball
throw, Kenilworth. For more information, call Luna Harrison at 316-4249.
August 6, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Camp Adventure Trip to Breezy Point
Beach, Calvert County, MD, for ages six through sixteen. Campers will
travel to Breezy Point Beach for an afternoon of fun in the sun! For
more information, call Priscilla Jones at 698-1794.
August 6, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Camp Funward Bound Closing Luncheon,
Golden Corral Restaurant, Largo, MD, for adults with special needs.
Participants of Camp Funward Bound will enjoy a tasty meal while
reminiscing about the wonderful camp experience had by all! For more
information, call Rita Robinson, Recreation Therapist at 698-1794.
August 10 and 18, 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m., DPR 7-Men and 3-Women
Citywide Slow Pitch Softball Tournament at Randall Field, South Capitol
Street, SW, for ages eighteen and up. Teams from the 7-Men and 3-Women
Slow Pitch Leagues will compete in an end of the season single
elimination tournament for the City title bragging rights. For more
information, call Luna Harrison at 316-4249.
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Community Review of Georgia Avenue, August 7
Parisa B. Nourizi, parisa@empowerdc.org
The ECAC, a founding member of the Georgia Avenue Community
Development Task Force (GACDTF), invites all residents, business owners,
and other stakeholders to a community review of Georgia Avenue on
Saturday, August 7, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Howard University
School of Architecture at 6th Street and Howard Place, NW. The Georgia
Avenue corridor is undergoing major change from New Hampshire Avenue to
S Street. It is important that the current residents and businesses
clearly identify the issues and the vision they have for new development
before the bulldozers arrive. At this Community Review of Georgia
Avenue, participants will have a chance to discuss issues that will
affect their quality of life in areas such as housing, safety, retail
options, environmental initiatives, recreation, and more. Small group
discussions will take place between 9:30 and 1:00, with a large group
meeting beginning at 2:00. Lunch will be provided.
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Dog Days of Shaw, August 7
Alexander M. Padro, padroanc2c@aol.com
On Saturday, August 7, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., as part of DC
Main Streets First Saturday, come celebrate the Dog Days of August in
Blagden Alley, directly behind Wagtime Pet Spa and Boutique (http://www.wagtimedc.com),
the city’s premier doggie day care, groomer, and retail store and Long
View Gallery (http://www.longviewgallery.com),
which is presenting a show of the work of Tony Savoie, many of whose
mixed media pieces feature canines. Bring your dog and enjoy canine
contests, doggie splash pools, games, prizes, and free gift bags,
dog-shaped cookies from Chatman’s Bakery and Cafe (http://www.chatmansbakerycafe.com),
popcorn from Independence Federal Savings Bank (http://www.ifsb.com),
light fare and refreshments, and frozen margaritas. And stroll 9th
Street with your pet, visiting other businesses offering dog-themed
specials and tastings, including Modern Liquors. Don’t miss Arts on N
Street, with eighty artists and craftspeople selling their work, and new
art installed in windows of the Washington Convention Center. Enter the
alley next to Squares Fashions, 1208 9th Street, NW. This event is free.
DC Main Streets First Saturday is sponsored by the Department of Small
and Local Business Development, DC Main Streets, and the Historical
Society of Washington, DC. For more information, call 265-SHAW or E-mail
shawmainstreetsinc@gmail.com.
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National Building Museum Events, August 7
Johanna Weber, jweber@nbm.org
August 7, 1:00-2:30 p.m. Postmodernism: Roger K. Lewis, FAIA,
architect, planner, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland
School of Architecture, and author of the “Shaping the City” column
in The Washington Post, draws on his years of writing to discuss
this reactionary approach to architecture. At the National Building
Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square Metro station. Register for
events at http://www.nbm.org.
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