DCist's Election Guide 2006
Written by DCist contributor Alex Hogan and Martin Austermuhle
D.C. Mayor, City Council: Ok, so the September Democratic primary kinda took the air out of the District's official mayoral election, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go vote. Look for a crushing Democratic sweep, but give a little time and check out what the Statehood Green and Republican candidates, Chris Otten and David Kranich, respectively, have to offer. We'd like to think that someday their parties will be competitive, but this just isn't the year. Council-member David Catania (I-At Large) will easily return for another council session.
Maryland Governor: Poor Bob Ehrlich. The incumbent governor can’t get any respect in the Old Line State. Sure, most of his campaign promises, including legalizing slot machines, stronger penalties for gun crimes, and more money to public schools, crashed and burned in Annapolis. And yes, he has spent more time feuding with the Democratic-controlled Assembly (and the Baltimore Sun) than signing his name to bills. But things are going pretty well in Maryland, and most residents are satisfied with the state of the state and Ehrlich’s job performance. Even the Post thinks Bob should get another shot in the governor’s chair. Unfortunately, Ehrlich happens to be a registered Republican. And in a state that is 2-1 Democrat and where President George W. Bush’s approval ratings have dipped so low that he only really ever visits the state to go mountain biking in a private facility, it's not surprising that Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D) commands a 10-point lead over the incumbent, scary law and order commercials demonizing Charm City aside. Look for Baltimore County “Ehrlich Democrats” to return to the fold and secure a comfortable O’Malley victory.
Maryland Senator: It's days before the elections and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) has finally gotten the people of Maryland to like him. What’s there not to like? A self-made man who can clearly think for himself, he came off as a charming and well-informed candidate on the campaign trail, particularly when compared with Rep. Ben Cardin (D), the genial eminence of the Maryland Democratic Party. We also hear he likes puppies (and George W. Bush, according to Cardin). Too bad most Marylanders don’t like Republicans. Despite keeping the R-word off his campaign literature and out of his cutesy TV ads, most voters, particularly African-American ones, remember that he is still the second-highest elected Republican official in the state and that he said some very nice things about Bush a couple years ago. He will do as well as a Republican could expect to do in this environment, which is nowhere near enough to win. Third party unity candidate Kevin Zeese came off well in the debates and raised important issues but never climbed above 3 percent in the polls. Look for a Cardin win and a return to one-party dominance in crab country.
Virginia Senator: If Democratic senatorial nominee Jim Webb accomplished anything this year, it was to sink all hopes of an Allen '08 presidential campaign. Sen. George Allen (R) got caught with his foot in his mouth so many times this campaign season that one has to assume he likes the taste of his cowboy boots. Thanks to his creative use of racial slurs, revelations of his repeated use of the N-word while in college, and an obsession with the Confederate flag that might embarrass Bo and Luke Duke, Sen. Macaca managed to turn a nearly 20-point lead in the summer into to a dead heat with Webb by October. It helped that the Democrats picked a nearly ideal candidate for Virginia. Webb -- a native-born Virginian, Vietnam vet, and former Reagan Republican -- predicted that the invasion of Iraq would be a disaster even before it started and campaigned as a down to earth economic populist. As a first-time candidate, though, he's a little rough around the edges and his grotesquely sexist comments regarding women in the military didn’t help build enthusiasm among traditionally Democratic-leaning women voters. But he still managed to turn a guaranteed Republican re-election into the most exciting Senate race in the country, and he effectively proved that when Allen wants to campaign on the issues, he obviously means sending aides to dig through Webb's books for anything to use against him. The race will be very tight, but Allen will probably squeak by thanks to turnout south of the Rappahannock River. And as has been the tendency in the past, an Allen victory will make Northern Virginia ask, "Wouldn't our own state be nice?"
Virginia Ballot Question One: Lucky Virginians. Because traditional marriage is being threatened left, right, and center by the gays, commonwealth residents will have the chance to amend their constitution to make sure that the holy union remains an Adam and Ever affair, not Adam and Steve. And just as with Allen's likely re-election, the southern and conservative swath of Virginia will likely carry this amendment to victory -- much to the chagrin of the more liberal and economically productive north. But when a door closes a window opens, right? New Jersey may soon become a gay mecca.
Congressional Seats: Let's face it -- we shouldn't expect any real surprises in the contests for congressional seats in the Washington area. Many of the incumbents are either moderate enough to cross party lines or are effective enough in representing their constituents to save themselves from defeat. And anyhow, we need to keep Tom Davis (R) in his seat, if anything because right now he's the only real hope that the District has to get a voting seat in the House.
D.C. School Board President: Revelations by the Examiner of D.C. Board of Education (BOE) Vice-President Carolyn Graham’s covering up of sleazy dealings by the BOE’s Charter School office hasn’t helped her campaign to become BOE President. City Administrator Robert Bobb has the big bucks and the backing of the cities political establishment, but look for strong grassroots challenges by public school activist (and father of a DCPS student — the only one!) Laurent Ross and former University of the District of Columbia President Timothy Jenkins. “Advocate and letter writer” Sunday Abraham’s name will also be on the ballot.
D.C. School Board: Voters in Wards 5 and 6 have their choice of former Eastern High teacher and Fix Our Schools founder Marc Borbely, former Cesar Chavez Public Charter School administrator Lisa Raymond, educational researcher Stephane Baldi, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners Mary Baird-Currie and Robert Vinson Brannum. Voters east of the river in Wards 7 and 8 can return incumbent William Lockridge or go with Ward 8 ANCer Jacque D. Patterson. Community activists Jackie Pinckney-Hackett and Cardell Shelton have also thrown their hat into the ring. All DCist can say is do your homework and pick wisely. If our likely next Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) has his way, this might be the last time you get to vote for a school board.