Washington is 19 months from the next mayoral election. That’s almost 600 days until the city’s residents choose a new leader. While electoral stirrings have already begun — several individuals have established exploratory committees, including councilmembers Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) and Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5), former D.C. Democratic Party Chairman A. Scott Bolden, and lawyer Michael A. Brown — Williams continues to tease city residents as to his prospects, preferring to remain focused on his mayoral duties.

Seemingly unable to contain their excitement over the prospects of a third term for Williams, the editorial board of the W.Times today took off running in issuing an endorsement:

Mayor Anthony A. Williams merits a third term in office after reinvigorating a city stuck in the bureaucratic bloat and malaise of the Marion Barry years and the forgettable one term of Sharon Pratt Kelly.

The W.Times editorial board has even outdone itself this time round — during the 2002 election season, the newspaper waited until Aug. 26 of the same year of the election to issue its endorsement.

The W.Times editorial board also proves to be enamored enough with Williams to offer him an endearing, if staid, nickname — he is referred to as “the Bow-Tied one” no less than 11 times over the course of the 672-word endorsement. Not to be nitpicky, but DCist reminds the W.Times editors that Councilman Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) also wears a bow-tie.