President Obama with mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown.

Though the District’s mayoral campaign is still relatively sleepy, the next few months promise a number of opportunities for the candidates to meet face-to-face against each other, as civic associations and other organizations line up to host forums and debates. On Wednesday we received word of what looks like the first such forum of the season, to be co-hosted by the Cleveland Park Citizens Association, Foxhall Community Citizens Association, and the Palisades Citizens Association on June 3. Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray and former TV reporter Leo Alexander have each been invited to present their visions for the District at the event.

But, as D.C. Wire has already pointed out, not everyone running for mayor was invited to attend, and one candidate is not happy with the snub. In response to being left out, long-shot candidate Sulaimon Brown was quoted as saying, “This cannot be a legitimate debate if we are not invited to attend.” Spence Spencer, the president of the Palisades Citizens Association, countered, arguing that only “viable” candidates were invited to attend.

Brown’s exclusion again raises questions that perennially dog lesser known candidates in local races — when can they be considered “viable”? Is there any way to define that? And more importantly, isn’t denying them the opportunity to participate in candidate forums just a way to enforce the idea that they’re not “viable”?

In terms of campaign funds, Brown most certainly doesn’t seem like much of a contender. After having launched his campaign in June 2009, he raised $13,765, according to a January 2010 report to the Office of Campaign Finance. But between that report and a March 10 update, Brown didn’t raise a dime. In fact, as of March, he was left with nothing but $27.84 in his war chest. And his website? Well, the only event listed is his 2009 campaign kickoff, and the last news item dates back to September. There’s not even a section on his campaign platform, but there are plenty of mentions of Barack Obama. (Not to mention a frontpage picture of him alongside the president, as shown above.) We reached out to Brown for comment this morning, but have yet to hear back.