This piece is for you who are still undecided in the upcoming election. The rest of you – particularly those who have voted already – can go outside and play. For the rest of you, go get your DCBOEE guide that you got the other day, the one you laughed at for sporting an upside-down D.C. flag on the front. The one with 72 pages that you flipped through and set it down to deal with on another day. Well, with the election less than a week away, that day is upon you, and I give you my (horribly biased) guide to the proceedings, to help make head or tail of the myriad of candidates from which you must chose. I have taken over the producing of this guide from its previous writer, for reasons that I trust will become clear in a moment.
For the really lazy, just look for the boldface names. If you want to get a sense of my thinking, you can read the words, too.
First off, I suspect that you have already made up your choice for mayor. If not, well, good luck. I can’t really help you there, though reading this might help. It’s further down the ballot that I want you to look.
The first one is easy: Chairman of the Council. Phil Mendelson has done a perfectly adequate job of keeping the fractious council on track, and deserves re-election. This is particularly true in that none of his opponents have displayed the sort of experience that the job requires.
The at-large council race has attracted the most press of any non-mayoral race, and with good reason. A total of 15 candidates are vying for two seats. And since Anita Bonds is almost certain to win her re-election, it’s really 14 candidates for one seat. Fortunately, there is one candidate who stands out from the pack: Elissa Silverman. Denied the seat in the last go-around, she has returned with vigor, and promises to bring her deep knowledge of the D.C. budget to bear where it can do most good. As a second vote, Courtney Snowden would be a good choice. She’s a mom who is heavily involved in the DC schools, and thus would add an important voice to one of the most important issues facing the city.
The next line on the ballot is also an easy choice: Ward 6 councilmember. Charles Allen, who has been Tommy Wells’s chief of staff, and who was the guy who got much of Wells’s bills passed, is running to succeed his mentor. He has the experience that other candidates can only dream of, and he will be an excellent advocate for the Ward. His (token) opposition is a member of the Libertarian party whose credentials include winning his primary with a total of 8 votes.
The race for Attorney General is exciting in that it is the first time that this will be an elected post in the District. There are a number of credible candidates running, but my vote will go to the guy who got us here: Paul Zukerberg. After the city decided to ignore the results of an initiative to make it an elected post, he’s the one that took on the challenge of fighting this through the courts. He is the one who has worked the most to make this an elected post, and thus the one who has thought the most about what it means to be an elected AG.
The next two slots are, let’s face it, ridiculous: Shadow Senator and Shadow Representative. Neither post has any power whatsoever, and exist for reasons lost to time. My recommendation here is to do what I do every time: Write your significant other in for Senator, and yourself for Representative. If you don’t have a SO, feel free to write me in. (Don’t forget the ‘h’ in Pohl)
At the very bottom of the ballot, but far more important than the two above it, is your chance to vote for the Ward 6 member of the State Board of Education. (Finding out why it’s not a “District Board of Education” will be the new member’s first job) Anyway, here, again, the choice is clear. Joe Weedon has been a long-time passionate advocate for the city’s schools. He has worked closely with Maury Elementary, as well as the two schools it feeds into, Eliot-Hine and Eastern High, as well as helping schools all across Ward 6 – and the whole city. His ability to get things done even without being on any board has been impressive. As a member of the Board of Education, he will have even more opportunities to make a difference. And, he did not, as his opponent did, refer to the kids as ‘our future’ during their debate. (Disclosure: Joe has been a friend of mine for years, his daughter and my son have been at Maury together for six years)
Don’t forget to turn over your ballot. There are two votes to look for there. First off is the position of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. There are 59 candidates for the 36 seats in the five boards across Ward 6, and thus I can hardly make the choice for you. What I can say is: Talk with your neighbors. Get a sense of which of your candidates has been working for the community in the past, and make that decision on your own (unless, of course, you’re in one of the SMDs that only one person is running in. Then you’re lucky)
The last item on page two is Initiative 71: Marijuana legalization. The amount of time and energy that is wasted across the city (and the country, but that’s not our problem) in arresting and incarcerating people for smoking marijuana is simply outrageous. Throw in the extreme racial disparity in the arrests and incarcerations, and there is no question that something has to change. Whether voting Yes on 71 will do much immediately to right these wrongs is uncertain (look what it took to get the Attorney General initiative to become law) but it sets a new aim, and certainly ensures that the gains made through the decriminalization bill will remain in place.
Finally, and you’re probably wondering why it’s taken me so long to get there, I return to the very top of the ballot and the lone federal race on the whole sheet: Delegate to the US House of Representatives. In contrast to the shadow members, this is a real seat with (some) real power. It is the closest we have to actual representation in Congress. It is a seat that has been held by one person 24 years, in which time the city’s relationship with the federal government has barely budged. There is, however, one guy who thinks we could do more, and his name is Tim Krepp. Or, as the ballot would have it, Timothy J. Krepp. I urge you to cast your vote for him. (Really big disclosure: Tim is a good friend of mine. He has written for the Hill is Home in the past, and in fact used to write this Lazy Voter’s Guide. I have been writing him in for this position for the last couple of cycles, and encouraged him to do this for real this time. This does not change the fact that you should vote for him, or to consider my support in any way biased)