It's the ideal political contest -- an aggressive challenger facing a docile incumbent. And to date, this is exactly the dynamic that has dominated the race for one of the two At Large seats on the D.C. Council. A. Scott Bolden, a lawyer, former president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, and former chair of the D.C. Democratic Party, is taking on sitting Council-member Phil Mendelson in a race whose tenor has thus far been determined by Bolden. He has consistently taken on Mendelson's style and legislative record, painting him as out-of-touch with District voters. And while many an incumbent would attempt to mount a defense, Mendelson has thus far remained quiet, only hinting that his re-election campaign has started.

DCist recently spoke to Bolden about his campaign and his competition.

Bolden, though recovering from a sinus infection, spoke confidently and intelligently, commenting freely on a variety of issues on which his campaign has focused. Though he seemed prone to resort to scripted talking points, Bolden described a contest that focused largely on Mendelson's shortcomings on the council, sometimes relentlessly so. Peppered throughout our talk with him were references to areas where he saw Mendelson falling short, be it on taxes, crime or education. "In the end, for eight years we have had an at large council-member that simply doesn't get it. His legislative record and his legislative failures are going to be front and center in this campaign, and they ought to be," Bolden told DCist. "We have paid him over $800,000, [and] if you include his office budget, probably well over $1 million over eight years. He just has not demonstrated the level of leadership, of valued leadership on the issues that are more important to the voters," he continued.

Beyond simply going after Mendelson, Bolden approached the central issues of the campaign methodically, speaking in measured tones and always careful not to swing too far to one side or the other. On crime, he spoke in favor of cracking down on quality-of-life crimes, but while maintaining respect for civil liberties -- "Zero tolerance coupled with the proper training without violating anyone's rights," he stated. On affordable housing, he advocated using public-private partnerships to develop abandoned properties, arguing that large developers would follow suit if the District government led the charge. A similar middle-of-the-road dynamic was evident in his take on taxes, regulation and healthcare. But on the issue of District voting rights, Bolden remained uncompromising, expressing his full support for voting rights, statehood and self-determination. When asked to comment on a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) that would grant the District one voting seat in the House of Representatives while allowing Utah one more seat, Bolden seemed un-impressed, stating, "Here again, D.C. voters must negotiate a compromise for what is rightfully theirs."

Ultimately, though, the conversation tended towards Mendelson and his record. But why go after Mendelson as consistently as Bolden has?

Some political observers have said that it's because Mendelson's hold on his seat is weaker than ever, the product of a two-man race in which he cannot expect two African-American candidates to split the vote and allow him victory with less than a majority of the votes cast, as happened in past races. Others say it's because Mendelson simply hasn't fought back, making his fledgling campaign seem vulnerable. While Bolden has aggressively fundraised, collecting over $235,000 thus far and more than $40,000 in the last reporting period alone, Mendelson has only taken in $68,750 and has spent almost none of it. More importantly, though, Mendelson simply hasn't stepped up to deflect Bolden's many attacks. While Bolden's website is brimming with press releases and blog entries on any number of issues, many of which directly criticize his opponent, Mendelson's site features little more than the claim that his campaign is "Getting Into Gear." The slow start to his campaign provoked WTOP Political Reporter Mark Plotkin to state the following of Mendelson in a Post online chat yesterday:

As for the at large race, I 've said this before, Mendelson needs to be more visible and he's had a charmed political existence in that many candidates have split up the vote against him. That's going to be a close race. And Mendelson needs to get his base out.

But to date Mendelson has not organized a defense for himself, leaving Bolden to determine the style, shape and volume of the contest. And given that Bolden is well-known for being a tireless campaigner, Mendelson clearly has ground to make up. But once he does start making it up, it may become more of a competition that it currently is, and Bolden will have to start highlighting not only what Mendelson has done wrong, but also what he will do right.