Results tagged “election2006>”

Speculation over how things may or may not change is an inevitable part of any election. There has been plenty of chatter about the impacts our city's new leaders might have on the lives of District residents. However, we mustn't forget that D.C. is America's first and best official fiefdom, subject to the whims of what can only be called a highly creative bunch of representatives and senators. As a result, elections held hundreds of...

As Adrian Fenty spends the day getting elected, we're reminded that he'll be seeing some serious dosh soon. Last month, Mayor Williams proposed legislation that would give his successor a 32% pay raise. He cited the discrepancy in the administrative pay scale in which some of the Mayor's aides make more than the actual top dog. So today DCist asks: How will he be using his $200,000? (Also, does he remember that fiver we loaned...

With less than 24 hours until polls open, most District residents are caught in a curious spot. Bombarded with ads from both sides of the Potomac, we're highly aware that a battle for control of Congress is taking place, and yet are powerless to take up arms. With average turnout in non-presidential election years hovering around 40%, we can't help but have a little ire for those in Maryland and Virginia who could weigh in...

It is an unfortunate reality for metro area residents that the transportation projects that can make or break their commute often live and die by the politicians who are elected to office. With Election 2006 dominating the news, here's a selection of transportation-related items from your friendly neighborhood candidates. Also, changes to Metro's weekend service. Photo by xtol7...

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...

Being a political town, perhaps you've found your friend pool shrink drastically over the past few weeks, as politicos head to places near and far to spread the the joy of democracy to the people. You've noticed that Hill bars have felt rather empty during recent Thursday nights. Maybe you've found yourself lamenting over the fact that you're not feeling the rush of a campaign, and you're looking for local ways to get involved on the national level, even at this late date. DCist called up the Republican and Democratic committees for Maryland, Virginia and the District and tried to gather up ways to get involved. What we've pooled together are some volunteer resources, as well as a few specific events and contacts to help you hit the ground running during the last two weeks out of Election '06. Sure, it won't make up for your sudden dearth of friends, but you can make some new friends while phone banking for your candidate of choice.

We're barely getting over the September 12 Democratic primary and already we're hearing whispers of the 2010 election. Jonathan Rees, the Ward 3 candidate known for his, let's say, "creative" use of online resources to run his campaign, may be smarting from his trouncing on Tuesday (he mustered 29 votes for the council seat, or 0.21 percent of the total votes cast), but he's not out. Not at all.

We've followed the candidates for the last 16 months, and today is the day everything will be decided. We opted not to endorse any candidates, but we are going to put our betting skills to work and pick the winners for the D.C. races. Mayor: Love him or hate him, Adrian Fenty is taking this contest. Not only has he led competitor Linda Cropp in the polls since late July, his recent endorsement by the...

It was on April 27, 2005, that we took our first of many stabs at the District mayoral race. And it's tomorrow, some sixteen months after we first tried to guess who would throw their hats in the ring, that voters will finally have their say. Voters in the District and Maryland go to the polls tomorrow to vote in primaries for everything from senators to council-members to ANC representatives, with more than 800 candidates...

Even blogs take vacations, you know? Well, that'll have to do to explain why D.C. Wire, the Post's local politics blog, took an extended leave of absence from July 13 until yesterday.

We knew it all along. Granted, we were off by a few weeks, but we called it. (Pat on back for us.) Michael Brown, a perennial long-shot in the mayoral contest, is dropping out today, reports the Post. This morning we received a cryptic announcement from his communications director, stating that Brown would "make a major announcement regarding the future of his campaign" today at 2 p.m. Then again, we received pretty much the same...

Everyone else has taken their shot, so why not the City Paper? Today the weekly's local politics column, Loose Lips, threw its support behind a number of candidates for next week's D.C. primaries. But more surprising than the picks was the biting tone in which they were delivered -- this is no Post endorsement, they seemed to remind us. Columnist James Jones sided solidly with candidates that bucked the establishment and railed against those beholden...

There's a lot of fear being sold these days in D.C. Yesterday District residents were treated to fear from both local and national leaders. President George W. Bush again played the terrorism card in a speech downtown, slyly insinuating that a Democratic victory in November's midterm elections would find Al Qaeda terrorists freely walking the streets of American cities. More locally, mayoral hopeful Linda Cropp doled out some fear of her own, warning of the...

Right around now, most District households should have their handy 2006 Voters Guide, the booklet running through the details of the upcoming September 12 primary and featuring short vignettes on all the candidates on the ballot. More importantly, though, the booklets each have a specific notation listing a precinct number that track to the polling place each registered voter is to visit to cast their ballot. Well, kind of. It seems that the company contracted...

Brown Not Out: Well, we're a little red-faced today. Yesterday we guessed that mayoral longshot Michael Brown was bowing out of the race. He did, after all, send us an email in which he announced that a press conference held yesterday would include "major announcement regarding his plans for the future." Coupled with his fast-shrinking campaign finance account, we thought, "This guy is toast." How wrong we were. Brown didn't duck out of the race....

Written by DCist contributor Christopher Durocher In anticipation of the September 12 District primaries, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) of D.C. released its ratings for mayoral candidates last week. The ratings, which score candidates from +10 to -10 based on their support for the GLBT community and its issues, ranked D.C. Council Chair Linda Cropp the top candidate with a +9.5 rating, while Councilmember Vincent Orange found himself at the bottom of the...

Late yesterday afternoon we received a call from mayoral hopeful Michael Brown's campaign office. "Tomorrow, 11 a.m., outside the Wilson Building," was about as much info as we could get out of the campaign volunteer. The call was followed up by an email adding that the press conference would include a "major announcement regarding his plans for the future." Uh oh. We might be jumping the gun here, but we're guessing that Brown, who we...

It goes without saying -- the District is a town full of Democrats. They occupy the majority of the elected offices, have the most registered voters by a long shot, and reliably vote for Democratic presidential candidates. In the most recent analysis of the voter registry, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics reported that 73.5 percent of registered voters were Democrats. Republicans could only claim 8 percent, the Statehood Green Party 1.6 percent, and...

For months they have danced around each other, engaging in verbal jousting like the determined enemies that they are. But tonight it ends. Tonight, and only tonight, they face each other. Only one will remain standing. Are you ready to RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEE??????

Continue reading "Rumble, D.C. Election Style "

We're three weeks from the September 12 District primaries, the contest that will decide who will square off against who in November's general election (even though Democrats invariably win the majority of contested seats, the Republican and Statehood Green parties also field candidates). And given the sheer number of candidates running in some races -- the Ward 5 seat is being contested by 13 people; Ward 3 by 10 -- getting all the information necessary...

Pictured above is a flyer spotted and collected near Logan Circle by Charles over at A Single Syllable. And, to be honest, we're not quite sure what to make of it. On the one hand, we're inclined to applaud Cropp for reaching out to the city's GLBT community, particularly in a race where other candidates have stooped to playing to the reactionary prejudices of the city's social conservatives.

If you're one to wait until the last minute to do something, then congratulations -- you've done it again.

It's just over a month until the September 12 primary, and the endorsements are starting to roll in. Non-governmental organizations, newspapers, and big-name individuals are throwing their weight behind specific candidates, hoping to given them the final boost they need before election day. In the first big mayoral endorsement of the campaign season, the Current newspaper group -- which publishes the Georgetown Current, the Dupont Current, the Foggy Bottom Current, and the Northwest Current --...

Debating Where to Debate: It was big news a few weeks back when Marie Johns challenged Adrian Fenty to a duel...errr...debate during a phone call she placed to a radio show Fenty was guesting on. The ambitious one-on-one challenge by Johns was set for August 12 at high noon...errr...9 a.m. But WTOP is reporting today that both Fenty and Johns may end up debating themselves, because they can't seemingly agree on a location for their verbal joust to the death. Fenty claims that the deal was always that the debate would be held somewhere in Ward 8, where he promises to be on the set day. Johns, however, has countered, arguing that since Fenty chose the time and date, she should at least get to choose the location, which she did, opting for the Human Rights Campaign headquarters on Rhode Island Avenue and 17th Street. Neither seems willing to concede, so August 12 may see the two standing miles apart asking an empty podium questions about crime, education, economic development, and affordable housing. Inside sources tell us that the two might meet later this week to settle the dispute, though neither can seem to agree whether they should order in from Domino's or Papa Johns.

Is Linda Playing Dirty?: We all know that elections can be dirty affairs. While candidates may carry themselves with distinction, they're not immune from endorsing a dirty trick here or there to hamper an opponent's progress. This year's mayoral campaign has been relatively trick-free, until now, or so claims hard-charging contender Marie Johns, pictured at right. Johns is running behind Linda Cropp and Adrian Fenty in citywide polls, but the assumption is that every vote...

It's been a year since Jonathan Rees launched his quixotic campaign for the Ward 3 seat on the D.C. Council. And what a year it has been. For those of you new to the Rees saga, here's a brief recap -- Rees has existed primarily online, running his campaign by using numerous online aliases (28 on DCist alone; upwards of 80 on other blogs, listservs, and messageboards) to promote his qualifications and attack those of...

Public schools, booming development, crime, baseball stadiums, double parking -- there are plenty of issues that District residents must consider when evaluating the field of candidates for the Corner Office. Right up there for us is the city's environmental health. Even though our world class transit, green buildings, and community gardens snagged us the #12 spot on SustainLane's list of Most Sustainable Cities, there is plenty more to do!

Yes, it's been quite some time since we caught up with District politics, especially given that it's an election year. But here are some updates and tidbits. Fenty, Cropp, Fenty, Cropp: For those of you following the District's mayoral contest, the city's political establishment has whipped itself into a frenzy trying to predict whether Linda Cropp or Adrian Fenty will win the Democratic primary in September. Up until recently, the general consensus was that Cropp...

"Others have come before us, and they said they would put neighborhoods first, and it didn't really happen," the Rev. Christine Wiley of Covenant Baptist Church told the crowd. "Read my lips. We are aware of the promises in the past that were made and not kept. We're going to hold you accountable."

Written by DCist contributor Andrew Wiseman