It’s not just that DC Attorney General Karl Racine persuaded 207,451 voters to mark their ballots for him in this month’s recent general election that brought me to this decision to “salute” him.
Yes, his showing was impressive. After all, Mayor Muriel Bowser garnered only 171,608 votes and DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson won 198,639 in that same election, according to the DC Board of Elections. Racine even topped DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s numbers of 199,124.
This is not a column about Racine’s political future, however — although he is well-positioned to run for mayor or Congress, should he choose. It won’t be an easy ride, however, especially since there is talk that Kenyan McDuffie, the council’s chairman pro tempore, and possibly at-large Council member Robert White may decide to throw their hats in that ring. Both are popular pols with much to offer.
As the city’s first elected attorney general, Racine has been a political wizard over the past four years. He has distinguished himself as the legal protector of District residents and their government, shown himself as a defender of democracy locally and nationally, and worked assiduously to serve as an inspiration to the city’s youth, particularly those facing various socioeconomic challenges that may have led them down the wrong path, becoming caught in the juvenile justice system.
Truth be told, in 2014 when he ran for office, I frequently raised concerns about the fact that he was a managing partner of one of the city’s premier law firms. I thought that experience might bias his approach to the job, giving cover to corporations and to some District agencies with which his firm may have been cozy.
I was using a lens that was too narrow in my initial analysis of Racine’s skills and talents, and the potential focus of the power and influence of his office. Don’t think, however, that I have agreed with the AG on everything.
We have clashed on several occasions. I blasted him for pursuing a case against whistleblower Eric Payne, a former senior staffer in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, who sought to save DC taxpayers millions of dollars through his handling of a lottery contract but ultimately lost his job after he brought to light the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of then-Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham and then-Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray. I certainly have not supported Racine’s so-called “pay to play” campaign finance legislation, which is currently before the council in a revised version.
Nevertheless, I have enormous respect for Racine. He made District residents appear extraordinarily smart and prescient in 2010 when they approved amending DC’s constitution to provide for an independent AG. Kudos to Paul Zukerberg, who took the council to court in 2013, when eight members, led by Ward 2’s Jack Evans, sought to delay the vote to 2018.
Once elected, Racine initially found himself caught in a territorial battle with Bowser that was not of his making. She attempted to limit his budget and pulled lawyers from the control of his office. He handled all of that with a smooth professionalism that has marked his career.
What has earned Racine the accolades of voters, including myself, has been the urgency with which he has responded to issues that matter to residents: He defended the District’s gun control law, which was designed to minimize violent crime in the city, hoping to prevent complete erosion of regulations by federal courts. He stepped out against the sale of synthetic drugs such as K2, going after commercial businesses that sold the deadly concoctions in plain sight.
Currently, Racine’s office is managing the Cure the Streets program that is designed to interrupt potential violent activity in certain communities, using trained organizers and returning citizens. It also is implementing a restorative justice model to address juvenile delinquency.
Racine has gone after companies with city contracts that have not provided the quality services they promised. He has stepped in when workers, including those in the hospitality and restaurant industry, have been cheated out of rightfully earned wages by unscrupulous employers who are also bad actors within the corporate community. He convinced the council to strengthen DC’s Consumer Protection Act and has used it to bring multiple lawsuits against slumlords who have violated the city’s housing codes, forcing low-income and senior citizen renters to live in squalor.
On the national stage, he has stepped up to President Donald Trump and his gang of corrupt officials. Racine has worked with other attorneys general to defend the immigrant community from a federal assault, ensuring the continuation of DC as a sanctuary city. Equally important, he and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh are engaged in a lawsuit that accuses Trump of violating the emoluments clauses in the U.S. Constitution; that legal action gained traction recently when a federal judge ruled they can begin discovery, which could force the release of financial records and other documents from the president’s private company and its dealings at the Trump International Hotel in the District.
There is more but I don’t want to give the AG the proverbial big head. His record of achievement does deserve this special recognition. Don’t you agree?
jonetta rose barras is a DC-based freelance writer and host of The Barras Report television show. She can be reached at thebarrasreport@gmail.com.
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