‘Berry Sorry for Your Loss

In March, longtime politico A. Scott Bolden asked an old family friend, Enjoli Timmons, to help out with his bid for an at-large D.C. Council seat. “I took a bite [on the pay], but I was helping him out,” says Timmons.

Shortly after she started, she says, Bolden—a partner in the Reed Smith law firm—approached her and told her that his credit was maxed out and that he needed her to purchase two BlackBerrys for the campaign. The arrangement worked out fine for a while, but a few weeks before Bolden's Sept. 12 landslide loss to incumbent Phil Mendelson, the BlackBerry bills went unpaid, and Timmons was hit with a disconnection notice.

A number of vendors are still waiting for payment from the Bolden campaign, Timmons says, but she feels her situation should take precedence. “I was not to be treated as an ordinary vendor. I did this as a friend.” At least one person wasn't treated as an ordinary vendor: A. Scott Bolden's campaign has been plenty efficient when it comes to paying A. Scott Bolden. During the last four months of the campaign, his committee paid him $33,470.46 to reimburse him for various expenses, including $5,000 for “Printing” on June 11, $10,000 for “Campaign Materials” on Aug. 12, and a May 19 payment of $3,550 labeled “Consultant.”

Bolden referred questions to campaign treasurer Kim Alfonso, who didn't return repeated calls.

On Monday, Oct. 2, after a reporter made inquiries, Timmons got an e-mail from Alfonso asking her to specify exactly how much she was owed. Timmons did, and Alfonso replied, “Thank you. Did you call the city paper?” A check for the overdue balance—about half the total—was put under Timmons’ doormat later that day, and Alfonso assured her the rest of the balance would be paid before the service was cut off.