Yesterday the Washingtonian published its list of the 2011 Washingtonians of the Year. Included amongst the list of prominent locals is none other than Tom Sherwood, an NBC4 reporter, columnist for the Current Newspapers and guest analyst on WAMU’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Sherwood has been a fixture on the local media scene for over three decades, and it’s no joke that elected officials often say that press conferences don’t start until Sherwood shows up. Along with Examiner columnist Harry Jaffe, Sherwood wrote what is likely one of the most important books on the District’s political history through Marion Barry’s arrest and conviction in the early 90s: Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C.

Sherwood is part of an active and aggressive local press corps, and he certainly deserves the recognition. (It isn’t the first time, either — in 2005, he was listed by the magazine as one of the city’s top 50 most influential journalists.) And if you ever need someone to preach to you as to the merits of living in Southwest, he’s your man.

Congrats, Mr. Sherwood.