Photo by Michael Starghill

At-large D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown (I) on Tuesday came close to announcing he will run for mayor against Adrian Fenty in the November regular election. Brown made his comments during an appearance on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt on News Channel 8.

“I’m pretty certain, if the Mayor wins the primary, I would probably run against him,” Brown told DePuyt.

“This particular administration doesn’t like sending department heads to hearings. They withhold documents. There’s seems to be no transparency in this particular government. There’s no accountability.”

But would Brown stand a chance? Of all the council members currently under speculation as possible challengers to Fenty (Vincent Gray and Kwame Brown among them), he’s got the least amount of experience. Not to mention, his status as an “independent” has long been under a cloud of incredulity. The technicality of switching his party affiliation from Democratic allowed him to win one of the At-large seats reserved for non-Democrats, but would this city really elect an “independent” as mayor?

Brown is likely banking on Fenty emerging from the September Democratic primary as unpopular incumbent to whom there simply has been no viable challenger. He’d appeal to the “anyone but Fenty” camp in a last-ditch effort to remove the mayor from office.

One other interesting note: Brown told DePuyt he’s likely keep D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee should he become mayor, but he’d require her to “change her governing style.” It’s unclear what that would even mean, not to mention whether Rhee would stay in D.C. if Fenty was no longer her boss.