Cue sounds of cats hissing at each other. The latest issue of the Washington City Paper contains not one but two tongue lashings of Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham. The first, a lengthy cover story by Jessica Gould, nicely summarized in the subtitle: “Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham never met a misbehaving nightclub that blanket legislation couldn’t fix,” details Graham’s latest crusade against nightclubs — an issue we’ve certainly talked about before.

But it’s the second piece that really grabs the attention. The Loose Lips column,
by James Jones, tells the story of a personal squabble between the publication and the council member. It seems last week Loose Lips referred to Graham as a “legendary suck-up”, a moniker to which Graham took serious exception. Going straight to editor Erik Wemple, Graham challenged the paper to either take it back or back up the accusation with real evidence. In a welcome return to the sort of eff-off attitude we’d like to see more of from the City Paper these days, Loose Lips chose the latter option. Here’s a few of the examples cited by Jones to prove Graham’s status as a suck-up:

Incident No. 1: Back in 2002, when Mayor Anthony A. Williams appeared before the council to testify about a nonprofit fundraising scandal roiling the executive suite, most lawmakers hammered the mayor from the dais. Some questioned his truthfulness, others hinted at a cover up. Graham—who was then a big backer of a mayor with soaring approval ratings—offered this statement: “Mr. Mayor, you’re a great leader in this city.”

Incident No. 2: Despite polls circulated by Graham showing he could win the 2004 at-large city council race, Graham decided against a run in order to please then-Chairman Linda Cropp. According to Graham, she asked him not to bolt from his Ward 1 seat in order to stave off a racially divisive contest against already fading At-Large Councilmember Harold Brazil, who is an African-American. Graham is white. Not only did Graham get a chance to please the council’s top power broker, he talked incessantly about what an honorable deed he had done—even though it wasn’t his idea.

Jones’ list goes on from there, and concludes by calling Graham a few more names: Mr. Bandwagon, Mr. Fence-Sitter, or Mr. Opportunistic. Nothing like a public feud between a publication and a politician to spice up the afternoon.