Photo used under a Creative Commons license with JosephAdams.

Things are getting a little testy in the race for an At-Large seat on the D.C. Council.

After challenger David Grosso raised questions this week about a non-profit organization Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At Large) ran from 1996 through 2010, the Post yesterday reported on a 20-year-old run in Grosso had with police in Florida over two grams of marijuana:

“It’s absolutely true,” Grosso, 42, acknowledged Wednesday. He said he was caught with less than two grams of marijuana while on a camping trip when he was 22.

Grosso said he pleaded no contest and paid a fine.

The arrest, Grosso said, was a “real turning point” in his life. Before then, he said, he’d been working in D.C. bars and had no plans to go to college. But around the time of his arrest, he met his future wife, who persuaded him to go back to school.

Grosso went on to graduate from Georgetown University law school and work as a top aide to D.C. Council member Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6). He later worked in government affairs for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

Grosso said he disclosed the arrest on his law school and bar applications and has not used marijuana since that period. “Tell them to keep looking,” he said. “They’re not going to find anything in the 20 years since then.”

Grosso wasn’t the only challenger scrutinized—A.J. Cooper’s 2008 arrest for having a flare gun was also dug up, despite the fact that no charges were ever filed against Cooper. (Flare guns aren’t illegal.) The Post quoted Brown as saying that all candidates should be similarly scrutinized.

GOP challenger Mary Brooks Beatty also jumped into the fray, issuing a statement in which she criticized Grosso for calling for the IRS to investigate the finances of a non-profit foundation he ran. According to Grosso, Brown did not file the proper tax forms; Beatty says that Grosso misunderstood which forms Brown was required to file, echoing a claim made by Brown. (The City Paper begs to differ.)

“In a rush to put out strongly-worded press releases and portray himself as a candidate of reform, David Grosso has instead strengthened the position of an incumbent with real—not politically-concocted—ethical challenges,” said Beatty in a statement. “Being a reformer requires more than a series of press releases to re-brand yourself. Being a reformer requires a long-time commitment to accountability and making the District a better place to live.”

The candidates will have a chance to debate in person today in Georgetown.