jonetta rose barras: The political future of the DC Council
Many of the voters expected to crush post offices and voting centers this fall are focused primarily on defeating President Donald J. Trump. He has been an indisputable failure.
Here in the District, the lion’s share of attention for the November general election also has been on evicting the current occupant of the White House — perhaps to the detriment of local campaigns. “What’s sucking all the air out of the [local races] is Trump-Biden,” said Terry Lynch, a civic leader and Ward 1 resident who has been active in local politics for decades.
Still, the DC Council at-large race hasn’t been treated too shabbily. There have been community forums — held virtually to accommodate the coronavirus pandemic — with more scheduled in the coming weeks. Lynch said that on Labor Day he received his first campaign literature of the season on his front-door handle.
Are things kicking into high gear? Probably. There are 54 days before the general election. Early and mail-in voting will begin next month, according to the schedule announced by the DC Board of Elections.
In an echo of national politics, some voters in DC are concerned about city politics tilting too far left, potentially creating unhealthy divisions. They are worried about the adverse consequences of the pandemic, including the decline in the District government’s fiscal stability, the steep drop in the overall economy, the permanent closure of businesses, the loss of jobs, the rise in poverty and hunger, and the disruption of the system of public education.
“This is not a situation for rank amateurs,” said Alexander Padro, a Ward 6 advisory neighborhood commissioner who is competing in the at-large council race.
Equally important are demands around racial- and social-justice equity, amplified by the call to end institutional racism and defund or reimagine the DC Metropolitan Police Department. Underscoring those concerns is the reality that currently key executive posts — including those of city administrator, police chief, fire chief, deputy mayor for education and deputy mayor for planning and economic development — are held by white males. Those factors could instigate an election driven by racial identity and a push to add more Black and brown voices to the legislature.
“Racial politics are justified,” said one white political operative in the city. “If I were an African American who grew up in the city, I very much would look for someone with my shared experience, especially at this time.”
Padro and 23 other individuals are vying to fill two at-large seats up for election. Incumbent Robert White is seeking to hold onto one of them as the Democratic nominee, but when his fellow at-large council member, independent David Grosso, decided not to run again for the other seat, the race was thrown wide open, attracting a bevy of candidates. By law, voters may choose two candidates from the ballot. As it happens, most of this year’s contenders are people of color.
The cast of independent candidates joining White in this race includes people I admire, such as Padro, Marcus Goodwin, Vincent Orange, Ed Lazere, Will Merrifield, Franklin Garcia, Mónica Palacio, Eric Rogers and Markus Batchelor. All of them have solid records of public service and varying levels of expertise.
That is said not to cast aspersion on any of the other hopefuls: Mario Cristaldo, A’Shia Howard, Chander Jayaraman, Jeanné Lewis, Rick Murphree, Michangelo Scruggs, Keith Silver, Christina Henderson, Claudia Barragan, Calvin Gurley, Kathy Henderson, Republican Marya Pickering, Libertarian Joseph Bishop-Henchman, and Statehood Green Party nominee Ann Wilcox. However, most don’t have the proverbial snowball’s chance in hell of winning: They lack significant name recognition or a clearly defined political base. Their campaign infrastructures are nonexistent or weak. They also lack sufficient funds to compensate for their other deficiencies.
Along with White, it’s Padro, Goodwin, Orange and Lazere who seem to me to have the best chances of crossing the finish line. As required by DC election law, the latter four are registered as independents, although prior to this election they were all die-hard Democrats. Under the Home Rule Charter, no party can nominate more than one candidate for the two at-large seats on the ballot; there’s no limit, however, on the number of independents who can run (as we”ve seen this year).
“In the past 30 days, I have gone from ground zero to the top tier. In the next 30 days, we’ll transcend all of them,” boasted Orange, who until June was president of the DC Chamber of Commerce. Four years ago, he was an at-large council member; he lost his reelection bid to White.
Now, with his “Come Back Better” slogan, Orange wants to reclaim his old job. “We need a new order of business. We need to be prepared,” he said, adding that the city should “make a $25 million investment in education” and the council has to “consider how to replenish [the city’s] rainy day fund.”
Lazere, the former founding director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, is no slouch in the areas of public policy or finance, however. “I’m the only candidate with 20 years of budget experience,” he told me. “I have devoted the last 20 years of my life to work for racial and economic justice in DC. That is the energy I want to continue in the [John A.] Wilson Building.”
In 2018, Lazere, an ultra progressive, tried to unseat Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. Some people wonder whether he is coming in the back door to mount another attack against Mendelson.
“I’ve got to win in November and join the DC Council in January 2021. That’s all I’m thinking about,” said Lazere.
“We are facing one of the biggest crises the city has seen in decades,” said Padro, who has been elected as an advisory neighborhood commissioner 10 times. “We’re talking about a huge impact on property taxes, sales taxes. … The rainy day fund is wiped out. We can’t rely on a federal government grant in the short term.”
The face of the award-winning Shaw Main Streets for more than a decade, Padro has been credited with helping to revive that community, bringing in more jobs and businesses while limiting the displacement of longtime residents. “I am a proven leader. I’ve got my finger on the pulse of small businesses,” he said. “The vast majority of [candidates] haven’t accomplished anything. They don’t understand how the District government works.”
In a sideswipe, Goodwin countered that “Nobody outside of Shaw has any clue that [Padro] even exists.”
In 2018, Goodwin ran in the Democratic primary against at-large incumbent Anita Bonds, finishing in third with 23% of the vote. Two years later, he is seen as the person who could both navigate and embrace progressive issues while addressing concerns raised by small businesses. “I’m someone who is going to be thoughtful about our public policy. People don’t understand basic economics. You can’t continue to raise taxes as if it has no consequences. I don’t want to overtax people.
“We need responsible leadership to step up,” he said, acknowledging that many residents are worried about public safety and the state of public education.
Goodwin said there should be a change in the training police receive. “We need to demilitarize our police. They really have military-grade weapons that they don’t need out on our streets.
“I want to bring workforce housing for them,” continued Goodwin. He said he also wants to “cut down on a lot of District agencies. I want the council to create a business advisory group.”
Goodwin and the others might even spell trouble for White. Traditionally, the Democratic primary winner has sailed through the general election. Given the quality of opponents in terms of their experiences and their reputations, White’s victory may not be assured, even though three-quarters of DC’s registered voters are Democrats.
Padro confessed that “I have been encouraging people not to think of Robert White as an automatic vote. I have been encouraging the idea of voting for two independents. A lot of people haven’t been pleased with Robert’s performance.”
White said he understands the moment. “As soon as you take something for granted, it slips away.” He said he is working with the party and strengthening his campaign infrastructure in every ward. “I am focused on my race and my strategy and trying not to look sideways too much.
“It’s incumbent on me to make sure people know I am the Democratic nominee,” continued White. “My strength is my record. I’ve learned how to set agendas and execute those agendas. I still have work to do.
“There has been a real lack of opportunity for people of color,” he said, adding that “racial justice and equality always have been my North Star.”
With sometimes-modest differences between the major candidates on many big issues — affordable housing and eviction prevention; humane policing and public safety; improved health care for the most vulnerable residents; expanded employment opportunity and support for small business — their approach to racial justice and equity may affect voters’ evaluation of them. “I would be the first gay council member” since Ward 1’s Jim Graham and at-large member David Catania left office, said Padro, who is also one of five Latinos in the race; his parents were Puerto Rican and Dominican. “I appeal to a lot of different constituencies.”
Goodwin called himself a “brick builder with crossover appeal for voters.”
Lazere noted that he has been a faithful husband for 30 years to an African American woman and is the father of two interracial sons. “I reach out to Black and brown communities because I care about what happens to them,” he added.
“When you and I woke up today, we [were] still facing racial and economic issues,” said Orange, who asserted that he decided to run because “I didn’t think the council was heading in the right direction.”
Asked to identify his base, Orange said wards 4, 5, 7 and 8. In other words, communities dominated by voters of color. (Orange represented Ward 5 on the council for two terms before his at-large tenure.)
While racial identity may be a factor in the outcome, Lynch said it will all come down, as it does every election, to who can get out their base — and freshness. “Voters do like change.”
Except, perhaps, when they have suffered far too much change. Then, they may want familiarity.
Stay tuned.
jonetta rose barras is an author and freelance journalist, covering national and local issues including politics, childhood trauma, public education, economic development and urban public policies. She can be reached at thebarrasreport@gmail.com.
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