Anthony Motley Declares 2010 Council Run
DCision 2010 begins in earnest: We have our first official D.C. Council challenger.
That would be the Rev. Anthony Motley, the Congress Heights minister and civic activist. Earlier this month, he sent a letter to a select group of friends, informing them that he has "decided to launch a campaign for an At-Large City Council seat in 2010" and inviting them to an April 4 meeting at the downtown law offices of A. Scott Bolden to discuss it.
In an interview, Motley, 59, says he simply "want[s] to explore the possibilities."
"I've been asked by a number of people to consider doing it," he says, name-checking his own pastor, Raymond C. Bell of First Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church as well as a mysterious "dear friend of mine in upper Ward 4." Bolden, he says, is "a friend, and Scott had been encouraging to me." (Bolden, of course, ran in this race four years ago as a Democrat and was trounced in the primary by Phil Mendelson.)
The big question is whether he has the backing of Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry. Motley is a confidant of Barry's and is often seen in public with the mayor-for-life, including after his recent kidney transplant surgery. Motley says that surgery has precluded any real talks with his patron: "He's been ill, so we haven't really talked a lot about this, but hopefully once he gets better, gets on his feet, I'll sit down and talk to him about it and hopefully he'll be supporter."
His rhetoric, unsurprisingly, jibes with Barry's last-least-and-lost chestnuts. In his letter, Motley wrote, "It is my desire to reach out into our beloved city and touch those whose lives are being impacted by the conditions which have compromised the safety and stability of our neighborhoods, and created uncertainty among our employees, families and businesses. It is my hope that I can share my vision of a city that cares for its people, protects its most vulnerable, our seniors and youth, and secures a future for our children and their children."
Another tricky issue is his party affiliation: Motley's an elected member of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, but his thus-far bare-bones Web site takes a page out of the Michael A. Brown playbook and bills the candidate as an "Independent-Democrat." A Democratic run would pit him against Mendelson, who is expected to run for a fourth term, while any other affiliation would put him up against David A. Catania, should he choose to run for a fourth full term.
Motley says he isn't yet sure about his affiliation: "I'm a registered Democrat. I believe in the Democratic principles, but we haven't made a decision yet."
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2:09 pm
And we here in Ward One are just waiting for someone good to throw their hat in against the Grahamstander... waiting, hoping, praying, wishing....
2:39 pm
I'm not sure I'd pick Marion Barry's spiritual leader to be the most effective person in the world...
5:21 pm
This is getting silly.
10:39 am
It is sad that we can't find better qualified people to run for Council in D.C. While there was a wealth of good candidates in Ward 3 two years ago, we've really been finding stinkers in most of the other wards. D.C. really does have more talent than this.
12:48 am
I think he needs to pick up his hat and go home. You're right this is getting very silly.
12:51 am
I saw him speak once. I was not impressed, spiritually or politically.
10:14 am
Anthony Motley is awesome. He's the only candidate that is worth my vote, because he's the only candidate that understand the issues. Period.
10:18 am
Anthony Motley is the change we need in DC! No matter what ticket he runs on.
10:25 am
Anthony Motley is a hypocrite. And if you believe he is doing this for anyone but himself you are delusional.
10:27 am
And the first thing he needs to do is drop the Rev. Bull @#!#. Thats a joke!
10:29 am
I agree - we cant be that desperate!! This is silly to even consider him.
1:19 pm
I like him a lot.
1:22 pm
absolutely fantastic! talk about hitting the nail on the head, go Tony
1:23 pm
erick you really need to grow up.
1:25 pm
DC Needs a new start. someone who cares about the people my VOTE is for Anthony Motley!!
1:33 pm
Interesting opinion, but I personally give anthony motley a lot more credit than you do.
1:35 pm
Da hell? Did Reverend Motely all of sudden get his church members to reply to this post?
4:41 pm
The guy's got passion, I know that much, and he knows what he's talking about. He's got my vote.
5:08 pm
Peter, Rhonda, duff, Larry, Susan---thanks to you all for commenting in support of the reverend...from the same IP address.
7:04 pm
From what I can tell he sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
7:54 pm
No thank you Mike DeBonis for letting us know that you have a vested interest in the campaign, it appears that the post where users use profanity and boarder line hate speech did not capture your attention but a group of supports using the same laptop to show their support in a positive manner somehow raises an eyebrow and results in you feeling the need to point it out.
8:02 pm
Anthony Motley is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.
10:55 pm
he doesnt have any church members or a church, he was removed from Gods church due to his infidelity and fornication. God gives and God takes away. Erick and I have been residents of DC for many years, we put three children through college and have never seen such a grown man behave like a teenager. It is a shame
11:45 pm
I really hope you have something other than rumors and accusations if you are bold enough to state such slanderous remarks in a public forum. If this is pure rumor mill or he say she say information then I feel sorry for you and you sad attempt to slander the name of someone you mostly likely don’t even know. I would dare to say what have you done lately to better the community because clearly your morals and value are out of whack based on this feeble attempt to tear someone down.
2:57 pm
Motley is real. We need this and he got this. He is someone I actually see where I live. Someone I can relate to. I ain't never known a man that was always there when you needed him. DC is his family. Motley is the man for 2010
7:08 pm
Lord please. No Marion Barry, no Rev Motley.
Anyone silly enough to try and pad reader comments for them has 0 credibility in my book.
Considering the incestuous nature of Ward 8 politics I would advocate for a transplant into the Ward to run for the Ward 8 council seat.Someone with no ties to the foolisness that is the current loosely defined "leadership"
Charles Wilson will always get my vote for the Council seat - and from only this IP address lol.