Cheh Cleared, Rees Still Weird
It sounded just like the political intrigue that makes for a good scandal. While running for office, a candidate for the D.C. Council accepted reduced rent for her campaign office from a local developer and allowed an unregistered political action committee to funnel money from developers to her campaign's coffers -- up to and beyond $100,000, in fact. The only problem? None of it seems to be true.
The Post is reporting today that D.C. Office of Campaign Finance has concluded that allegations made by former Ward 3 candidate Jonathan Rees against Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) don't hold water. Rees, who ran against Cheh last year and was out-voted 6,462 to 32, claimed earlier this year that Cheh was up to no good, having sidled up to developers for cheap office space and exploited an illegal PAC put together by Joe Sternlieb, a local developer, and Linda Singer, his wife and current D.C. Attorney General. Rees took his complaint to OCF, demanding that the District nullify Cheh's victory and that Sternlieb and Singer be "penalized to the max under the law." To his credit, Rees did get one charge to stick -- that Cheh's campaign, without her knowing, failed to identify who had paid for a handbill. The $500 fine for such an infraction was suspended, however.
Infamous during his quixotic Ward 3 run, Rees has periodically fixated on various political figures or challengers and thrown accusations of every type their way. Ever since being handed what could best be considered a crushing defeat in the Democratic primary, Rees has been lurking on the fringes of the blogosphere and on local messageboards, directing his fury at pretty much everyone. First he announced his intention to challenge Cheh in 2010, and then he started shopping around a recall petition to be filed against her in 2008 (alleging, among other things, that Cheh has been involved with organized crime). He's also called her a "disgusting person" and a "liar," while alleging that Sternlieb was once gay, lived in a "dumpy apartment" and only married Singer to get ahead. Rees has also taken to attacking D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, claiming that he has used city police officers to intimidate critics (in this case, Rees himself) and comparing him to Adolf Hitler. He's even heaped scorn upon the District, calling it a "man made hell" filled with "stupid voters." For Rees, everyone is a target.
In the Post article, Cheh argues that Rees should have to repay the city for the investigation he provoked. Well, Council member Cheh, brace yourself, for it might not be over. While Rees was quoted as saying that he would not appeal OCF's decision, this is what he told us: "When I told the Washington Post I was not going to appeal, I meant to the DC Board of Elections but I did not say that I would not appeal directly to the DC Court of Appeals which I will do." Heavens forbid that a dry cleaner would ever lose Rees' pants.