DeBonis at the City Paper and DeBonis at the Post.

When the Post fished Mike DeBonis from the City Paper last month, the question on everyone’s mind was how the city’s paper of record would use the venerated Loose Lips columnist as part of its team of local reporters. Today we have an answer.

The Post has rolled out a local politics blog for DeBonis, aptly titled, well, “DeBonis.” And much like his two-year stint as the Loose Lips columnist for the City Paper, DeBonis will “digging into the characters, conflicts and campaigns of local politics.”

In his introductory post, DeBonis writes, “I’m also here to make sure that accountability is more than a campaign buzzword, to make sure your public officials — not just in D.C., but in Maryland, and Virginia, too — are honest, forthright and transparent in doing the people’s business. I’ll try to make note of what they’ve said and what they’ve done, and whether those things match up. When things go wrong, as they always do, I’ll keep an eye on how your government works — or doesn’t — to keep your trust.”

But he also promises not to be all business, all the time: “We’ll try to keep things from getting too serious around here. My nonpolitical interests extend to Hoyas basketball, White Sox baseball and any foodstuff that oozes orange grease. I live in Ward 1, work in Ward 2 and do my drinking in Ward 6. I get unusually excited by maps, trains and sprawling industrial operations. In the great drivers-vs.-bikers debate, you’ll never pin me down: I ride a beat-up old road bike around town whenever possible, but I also own a beat-up old Ford Taurus.”

And since DeBonis also made a name for himself with Loose Lips Daily, an email that aggregated all the local news and set the agenda for the day, he writes that he’ll be continuing that trend over at his new perch at the Post.

It’s good to see that the Post is using DeBonis for what he has been best at — local reporting mixed with sharp insight. And as the photographic evidence above shows, this transition has been good for him. A new haircut, snazzy clothes and a big smile — it’s the new and improved Mike DeBonis.