We might not have Joe the Plumber or $150,000 in stylish threads, but the final days before a number of local races are decided have gotten plenty exciting. There’s internal fighting, a second-time-around endorsement and a drunk-driving charge.

Council Divides Over Brown and Schwartz: Not wanting to sit out the increasingly close battle for non-Democratic At-Large seat that’s up for grabs, this week members of the D.C. Council started throwing their weight behind either Independent-Democrat Michael Brown or write-in Republican Carol Schwartz. Council chair Vincent Gray, Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) and Marrion Barry (D-Ward 8) came out for Brown, followed shortly by a flip-flopping Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7). Schwartz claimed the late-week support of Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) and Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), while Republican Patrick Mara has enjoyed the endorsement of David Catania (I-At Large). Everyone else on the council has wisely chosen to sit this one out, knowing of the potential awkwardness that council endorsers risk should their endorsee lose.

Post Gets Defensive with Third Mara Endorsement: Mara must be feeling the Post love these days. After an initial endorsement before the September primary that derided incumbent Carol Schwartz for being “unrelentingly negative,” the District’s newspaper of record re-endorsed Mara for the general election by lamely citing the importance of giving one of the At-Large seats to a reliable Republican. That logic apparently didn’t seem to square with anyone, so today the Post has re-re-endorsed Mara in a full editorial in which they applaud his support for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s school reform plans and his willingness to buck his own party on social issues like gay marriage. The City Paper’s Loose Lips, on the other hand, this week came out for Schwartz.

Strauss Drunk-Driving Arrest Makes News: Paul Strauss has served as the District’s unpaid and under-appreciated shadow senator for 12 full years, and he’s seems to love the futility of the job enough to want to go for six more. But the battle for what is usually a barely-contested seat has gotten heated, with recent revelations about Strauss sure to hurt his chances. The City Paper’s Mike DeBonis has landed some serious scoops, including a recent report from the D.C. Inspector General that criticized Strauss’ tenure on the Board of Real Property Assessment Appeals. Even more politically damaging might be today’s revelation that Strauss was busted for driving drunk on October 1, and the news never saw the light of day because his last name was misspelled in court filings. Well, the news is out now, and something tells us that we’ll soon be getting press releases from the D.C. Republican Party criticizing Strass and promoting challenger Nelson Rimensnyder. Oh wait, we just got it, and they’re asking Strauss to resign. Ouch.