Dear Voters:
For decades, Democratic Party activists have chafed under the remote
possibility that anyone aside from a Democrat could possibly be elected
to any office in the District government. They oppose anything that
could prevent total and complete party domination of District politics.
The latest ploy to prevent any other political party from having any
role in District politics is two bills introduced by Councilmember Jack
Evans, the “Omnibus Elections Amendment Act of 2014,” and by
Councilmembers Grosso, Catania, Wells, Evans, and Cheh, the “Open
Primary Elections Amendment Act of 2014,” Bill 20-717. Evans’ bill would
“provide that all candidates for the position, whether affiliated with a
party or nonpartisan compete against one another in a single primary
that is open to all candidates; and allows voters to cast a ballot in
any one party regardless of their political affiliation.” Since the
voters in DC are overwhelmingly Democrats, that means that the
candidates of all political parties, whether Republican,
Statehood-Green, Libertarian, or other, would be selected by Democrats.
It also provides that, “There is established a Mayoral Debate Commission
that shall consist of 4 members. Two members shall be selected by the
Mayor and 2 shall be selected by the Council. The Debate Commission
shall establish the debate schedule for the mayoral primary.” That would
give the elected Democratic incumbents the power to determine which
groups would be allowed to hold candidate forums among the mayoral
candidates and when those debates can be held.
The Grosso bill, which is cosponsored by four other councilmembers,
would allow voters in a primary to change their political affiliations
at any time, up to and including the day of an election. Again, that
would ensure that Democratic voters could determine the winners of all
political parties’ primary.
The Home Rule Act tried to ensure that there would be at least two
lonely minority party voices in DC government by having two at-large
councilmembers elected at the same time in every biennial election, and
allowing any political party to nominate only one person for those two
at-large council seats. We all know that has been a sham, since
Democratic candidates have simply taken to pretending to be independents
to win those at-large council seats. But at least the requirement that
candidates pretend to be independent is better than openly requiring
one-party rule, which is what the councilmembers desire.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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In the coming weeks and months, the council will consider several
bills that could dramatically affect how the District government
procures and contracts for good and services. Annually, the DC Office of
Contracting and Procurement (COP) processes contracts and more than ten
thousand purchase orders totaling more than $1.2 billion. This figure
doesn’t include certain DC government agencies that are exempt from the
COP’s authority — for example, the DC Water and Sewer Authority, DC
Housing Agency, the DC courts, the Not-for-Profit Hospital Association,
etc. In 2008, however, the controversy surrounding the awarding
of the $228 million lottery contract exposed the dark underbelly of
contracting by the District government and the council’s role in
reviewing and approving all contracts in excess of one million dollars (http://tinyurl.com/mugr3qw).
On Tuesday, April 15, at 1:30 p.m., in Hearing Room 412 of 1350
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, the council Committee of the Whole will hold a
hearing on four bills that could dramatically change contracting by the
District government. According to the hearing notice, “The stated
purpose of Bill 20-21 [the Council Contract Review Repeal Act of 2013]
is to eliminate Council review of Mayoral contracts by repeal of section
451 of the Home Rule Act. The stated purpose of Bill 20-75 [the District
Contracting Price Reasonableness Assurance Amendment Act of 2013] is to
amend the Procurement Practices Reform Act of 2011 to clarify the pocess
for determining price reasonableness. The stated purpose of Bill 20-477
[the Criteria for Council Review of Contracts Subcontractor Requirement
Amendment Act of 2013] is to require that proposed contracts submitted
to the Council include summary information regarding any subcontractor
contract. The stated purpose of Bill 20-649 [the Contractor Pay-to-Play
Elimination Amendment Act of 2014] is to prohibit a person who makes a
[political] contribution to a covered recipient from entering into a
contract or agreement with the District, receiving title or any other
interest in a strexet or alley, receiving a grant or tax abatement, or
entering into an agreement for the acquisition, sale, or lease of any
land or building until one year after the general election for which the
contribution was made. Bill 20-649 also requires a person to provide a
sworn statement to the District confirming their eligibility to enter
into a contract or agreement with the District for any of the interests
or benefits in the act.”
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
2014 Midterms Campaign Volunteer
Opportunities, April 22
Susana Baranano,
susigbf@yahoo.com
Do you need a campaign internship? Do you want to volunteer in a
campaign? Learn which campaigns need volunteers and interns. Sign up for
campaign internships and volunteer opportunities. Learn how they need
you and how you can help. Help Democrats pick up seats in John Boehner's
House of Representatives in these upcoming midterm elections. See Kay
Hagan and Mary Landrieu reelected and protect our Senate majority.
Join us at the Woman’s National Democratic Club for an evening
campaign training and panel discussion with Jonae Wartel, Training
Director, Association State Democratic Party Chairs; Dave Mills, former
Executive Director, Virginia Democratic Party and current Regional
Political Director, DNC; and Kiara Pesante, Southern Regional Press
Secretary and National Director, African American Media. DNC. Tuesday,
April 22, 6:00-8:00 p.m., 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. $15, members;
$20, nonmembers (one complimentary drink).
Reserve by telephone 232-7363, ext. 3003, or online at
http://www.democraticwoman.org
or
http://democraticwoman.org/index.cfm?action=events&sub=event&event=210.
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