Politics can be dirty. And with the advent of the internet and its power to spread messages far and wide at almost no cost and at surprising speed, politics in these times can be anonymously dirty. While in decades past candidates and political activists had to act under cover of darkness and under threat of being caught red-handed, today they benefit from the ability to post and publicize information, rumors, and accusations with no indication of who they are or why they might be doing so. In most political races, such online smear tactics wouldn’t distract from the substance of the campaigns. But in one District race, those tactics have become the campaign.

When Ward 3 Council-member Kathy Patterson announced she was setting her sights on the council chair, the race to replace her suddenly opened up. So far, only two candidates have announced their interest in the seat — Sam Brooks and Jonathan Rees. Brooks came to prominence in 2004, when as a 24-year-old he ran for an at-large seat on the council. While receiving only 13 percent of the citywide vote, he carried Ward 2 and came in a close second to eventual victor Kwame Brown in Ward 3. Rees, a dental-company manager, has become something of a legend in District political circles, with his homemade flyers and interestingly-fashioned website moving Washington Times columnist Tom Knott to call him “unfiltered, unguarded, uncensored.” Brooks has focused on improving the city’s schools and promoting more responsive government, while Rees has backed tax cuts and slimming of the city’s bureaucracy.

Though the candidates have never met, a particularly vicious online smear campaign highlighted by anonymous postings and un-supported allegations has flared up between the two, with both accusing the other of orchestrating the attacks for political gain. Brooks has been victim of the majority of the attacks, though Rees claims he has suffered his fair share. In most any political race such cyber-attacks would be quickly dismissed and the political process would proceed forward, with the candidates engaging each other on issues of importance to potential voters. In this race, though, the attacks keep piling on, and the mutual recriminations portend a painful year to come in bucolic and affluent Ward 3.