Combative rhetoric marks challenge to Ward 6 incumbent

A year ago, no one would have predicted there was enough anger in Ward 6 for an insurgency against DC Council member Charles Allen — not even Lisa Hunter, Allen’s opponent in the Democratic primary.

Hunter jumped into the race because, in her telling, there is a displacement crisis in her ward. Since the fall, she has taken almost every opportunity to denounce Allen — who rode a wave of progressive support in 2014 to take the seat of his former boss, Tommy Wells — for not addressing residents “living in despair.”

Hunter’s sharp rhetoric set up the most combative race this cycle, in a ward where a building boom has fueled an unparalleled population growth and fresh questions about gentrification.

Allen judges the use of $300 million in incentives for the construction of luxury condos and a new waterfront at The Wharf a worthwhile public investment. Hunter looks at The Wharf and DC United’s new Audi Field and sees “dust and traffic” and another example of how “developers have run this city.”

At a recent testy debate, not even Allen’s popular “Books From Birth” legislation was safe from Hunter’s attacks. Hunter said the program, which provides families of newborns free children’s books, should be need-based only. When Allen touted his role in securing $80 million to renovate Jefferson Middle School in Southwest, Hunter had a ready jab.

“Frankly, modernization will not close the achievement gap,” she said.

Heading into Tuesday’s primary, Allen retains the support of most progressive groups such as DC for Democracy, which he helped found, and Jews United for Justice. Hunter, a former Obama administration staffer and former literacy teacher, is a newcomer to District politics. She says she did not have her sights set on the Wilson Building until recently.

During the debate on June 5, Allen touted saving the Southwest Library, which the District “was ready to sell off” three-and-a-half years ago. The library will be rebuilt with $18 million in funding and is set to open in early 2020. He said he would focus on education, housing and jobs in a second term.

“In four more years, I’m excited about what more we can do,” Allen said.

In a city where local politics can still feel parochial, rarely do neophyte candidates slam members of the city’s political circles as “insiders” as Hunter has done. She believes her outsider badge and lack of big-name endorsements show she’s in tune with everyday residents.

“A lot of folks look at my campaign as ‘skipping the line,’” she said, a swipe at community groups who passed on endorsing her.

In his first term, Allen took the reins of the influential Judiciary Committee, and his oversight led to DC Police Chief Peter Newsham’s recent admission that his department has not followed a new District law to collect data from controversial stop-and-frisk incidents.

To show his progressive bonafides at the forum, Allen pointed to his work on increasing the minimum wage to $15.

Cue the attack.

“You can’t just say, ‘Oh, I’ve raised the overall minimum wage,’” said Hunter, who unlike Allen supports Initiative 77 to raise the tipped minimum wage. “That’s your cover. That’s not good enough.”

A straight-faced Allen stood up. “As the only person up here who didn’t sit on the sidelines and [who] actually fought for 15, to raise the wage, calling all the work ‘cover’ is, I guess, amusing,” he said.

In one mailer, Hunter claims that Allen “opposes legislation that would affirmatively allow qualified professionals to perform abortions.”

That drew in Wells, for whom Allen served as chief of staff. “I’ve been disappointed by the depth and breadth of negative campaigning by this fellow democratic Ward 6 candidate,” the current director of the Department of Energy & Environment tweeted. Hunter had previously hit Wells and Allen for being from the same town in Alabama. (Hunter is from California and moved to the District, to the H Street NE corridor, in 2009.)

Hunter disagrees her tactics are negative. “That’s a reflection of people who are not happy hearing the truth,” she said.

Reviewing her election strategy, Hunter thinks Allen has the votes of the Capitol Hill crowd locked up. She said she has mobilized local churches, public housing residents, women, parents outraged at education scandals and people in need of a stable job. Hunter, who is half Latina, says her Spanish has been an asset in reaching voters.

After the June debate where the two sparred, Allen said, “I can lay out a vision and show what I’ve accomplished.” But he’s not taking “anything for granted.”

His message to voters: “Drive to the polls. I’ll go pick them up if they need it.”