Last night was about as perfect as fall evenings come: perfect for a festive backyard party. In a corner lot garden strung with lights, with cupcakes and wine dotting the tables, and kids in public school uniforms handing out stickers, Charles Allen (officially) announced he was running to represent Ward 6 on the District of Columbia’s City Council. Allen, who has worked for six years chief of staff mayoral candidate/Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells has been widely anticipated to enter the race, with suppositions starting even before Wells announced his own candidacy.
Darrel Thompson, former Deputy Chief of Staff for Intergovernmental and External Affairs to U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, announced his candidacy for the same post on October 6 at Cava on Barracks Row.
Last night’s event was hosted by Francis Campbell, the ANC-6B representative and Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s 2013 Community Achievement Award, was well attended and the crowd applauded as Allen listed schools and education as his first and most important issue on his platform. He also plans to take on issues involving supporting seniors aging to place in the District, family-based affordable housing, and working on retail development at Reservation 13 property next to RFK Stadium. The ever-popular issue of neighborhood safety was also on the list.
Allen said he was looking forward to a series of meetings in the living rooms of constituents throughout the large number of neighborhoods within the boundaries of Ward 6.
Did THIH cover Mr. Thompson’s announcement with equal fanfare and detail?
Fair comment. We are working on broadening our coverage. We never intend to exclude people – that is completely contrary to our mission – but we don’t seem to be on the campaign’s radar, so we’ll try to correct that.