Yesterday we threw together a list of the people in the District we considered influential, taking after a similar annual list put together by GQ that compiles the movers and shakers on the federal side of the city. One of our nominees was Dorothy Brizill, a well-known civic activist and political gadfly who runs DC Watch, the closest thing we have to a citizens’ inspector general. And as we expected, last night she offered us a response and a number of other possible additions to our list. She wrote:

Among current elected officials, why not Vincent Gray; he’s the city council chairman. Within the Fenty administration, Peter Nickles is the local equivalent of both Dick Cheney and Karl Rove; influence doesn’t always have to be for good. Speaking of which, among longtime lobbyists and influence peddlers, Fred Cooke and David Wilmot still make more private deals for their clients than anyone else. Among public school advocates, if school advocates will have any influence in the future, Mary Levy, Iris Toyer, and Mary Filardo have the background, experience, knowledge, and history to make a contribution. Among television reporters, Bruce DePuyt, Bruce Johnson, and Tom Sherwood have the deep knowledge to do stories that aren’t just rewrites of press releases. The many people who run neighborhood and community listservs and blogs are providing news that is personally important to local residents, a job that has been largely abandoned by newspapers and broadcast outlets. Judy Feldman (Save Our Mall) and Robin Diener (DC Library Renaissance Project) are providing valuable services to the whole city, as are Kent Cooper, Charles Cassell, and Arthur Cotton Moore on architectural issues.

Is that all? Nope. There’s more:

What’s interesting is the number of fields in which prominent names don’t come to mind easily. What Washington Post editorialist and columnist can fill the shoes of Colby King and William Raspberry, when they provided that paper’s local perspective on the editorial and op-ed pages? What business leader is as much or more interested in the good of the city as in his own corporation — like John Hechinger, Gilbert Hahn, Katherine Graham, and Joseph Danzansky were? What business interest or large law firm contributes more to the city than it gets from the city’s government? The big foots — the Federal City Council, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, the DC Hospital Association, the contractors, developers, sports promoters, and so on — look out for themselves. What university president has made the university more of a contributor to its local neighborhood than it is an opponent of the city’s residents and its surrounding community? Same question for large churches. Name a local philanthropist. If you can, try naming two.

Phew. Well, Dorothy, these are all worthy mentions, and we will happily include them on our organic and always growing list.

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