Last night, seven at-large candidates traipsed down to John Tyler Elementary on Capitol Hill for the race’s first candidate forum of the general election—and most of them arrived on time. The debate, hosted by the Ward 6 Democrats and moderated by WTOP’s Mark Segraves and WRC-TV’s Tom Sherwood, pitted all comers against each other—Democratic incumbent Kwame R. Brown, “independent Democrats” Michael A. Brown, Dee Hunter, and Mark Long, Republican nominee Patrick Mara, Republican incumbent Carol Schwartz (running as a write in), and Statehood Green David Schwartzman—in front of about 75 attendees.

The Post’s Nikita Stewart filed her report on the matter this morning, but allow LL, unfettered by the bounds of objectivity, to render some judgments on the forum’s participants:

Kwame R. Brown: The defining moment of Brown’s performance came when asked about whether or not he’d vote for the Michelle Rhee two-tier teachers contract. Brown spent a minute talking around the issue, about how “at the end of the day, no one wants bad teachers” Pressed by Segraves for a substantive answer, Brown said, “If it were between option A and B, I would choose option A.” Huh? He also gave a squirrelly answer on whether he’d support a citywide single-beer ban. On the other hand, you can’t argue with the fact that, when asked which other candidate each would vote for besides themselves, five of six said Kwame Brown (only Schwartzman demurred). Kwame, in fact, also said he’d vote for Kwame: “I’m gonna take my son [also named Kwame] so we can both vote for Kwame Brown.” Grade: B-

Michael A. Brown: If you’re gonna attend a candidates’ forum, you attend the candidates’ forum. You don’t show up an hour into a 90-minute debate and expect a passing grade from LL. Brown cited a pair of events he’d made prior commitments for, but LL is told Brown had committed to the debate weeks before, then sent his regrets mere hours beforehand. Not cool. But LL can understand why he showed up late: Brown would likely have been more of a punching bag for other candidates, such as when, at debate’s end, Hunter called him out for giving local labor leaders a different answer from what he said last night regarding a charter schools moratorium. And make no mistake Brown will be milking his last name for all its worth—”I like how two Browns sounds….Brown squared,” he said in response to the who-else-are-you-voting-for question, marking the first time he’s tried to push the Brown connection in LL’s presence. Grade: D+

Dee Hunter: A question early in the debate about to what extent a candidate’s personal and professional dealings should be fair game was a clear shot at Hunter, who is facing disciplinary proceedings from the D.C. bar counsel. “Once you make the commitment or decision to seek public office, your life becomes an open book.” Later, Segraves followed up with a more direct line of inquiry about the charges, to which Hunter gave a supremely unsatisfying answer, excusing his behavior based on his large number of clients. Also, in response to a question on voting rights, he laid the failure of the D.C. Voting Rights Act at the feet of congressional Republicans. Sorry, Dee—Democrats are just as much to blame for that one. Grade: D

Mark Long: Long never quite met the old James Stockdale test (Who am I? Why am I here?). Long was cogent, well-spoken, and pretty much forgettable. If you’re going to jump in to a citywide race late with virtually no public service record and even less name recognition, you need to have a good reason ready. LL hasn’t heard it yet. Grade: C+

Patrick Mara: Mara did a good job of staying on his message of being a fiscally responsible type who would support the Fenty schools plan foursquare. The problem is, in a room (and city) full of Democrats, who buys that message from a Republican? Mara showed a strong grasp of the issues, citing several areas where real budget cuts are possible, and played defense better than anyone, including making a strong case why sick leave is a bad idea (though LL remains unconvinced by his POV). When Schwartz angrily accused him of taking upwards of a half-million dollars in business money, Mara demanded additional time to respond and, though he didn’t exactly get permission, took it, over the moderators’ objections. Why did he beat Schwartz? “I got off my duff,” he said. Snap! Grade: A-

Carol Schwartz: Schwartz was at her best when defending her record on the sick leave bill, making it perfectly clear she sacrificed her council sinecure by standing up to the business community. Good on ya, Carol! But the rest of the time, Schwartz’s thin skin showed in her slightly unhinged responses to other candidates’ criticism, particularly when Mara jabbed at her on gay marriage and Michael Brown implied that she’s a John McCain supporter (she hasn’t made a presidential endorsement). But her biggest mistake? Rather than hammer home the fact she’s a wrote-in every time she opened her mouth, Schwartz only mentioned that exactly once, at the very end of the debate. She doesn’t seem to recognize this is a different kind of campaign. Grade: C-

David Schwartzman: Schwartzman beat extremely low expectations with candor, a sense of humor, and showing up in a coat and tie. Make no mistake that Schwartzman, a Howard University biology professor, is well to the left of any other candidate out there, and he was not at all reticent about positioning himself as a “real independent progressive.” That’s not to say LL endorses his policy positions: On the need for austerity measures in upcoming budgets, Schwartzman said that spending on housing and human services issues is too low and called on a steep tax hike on the richest 5 percent of D.C. residents to pay for it. Probably a bad move in this economy, but it’s a nice change of pace to have an unabashed small-s socialist in house, in any case. Grade: A

LL has obtained a copy of the press release to be issued after At-Large Candidate Adam Clampitt announces that he’s shuttering his campaign today and endorsing Michael A. Brown.

Clampitt is billing it as a “veritable merger of the former rival campaigns,” with three members of Clampitt’s staff now working for Brown, including campaign manager Jarvis Houston. “Other resources formerly under Clampitt’s control will now be at Brown’s disposal as he continues his election bid and adopts portions of Clampitt’s platform,” the release reads.

And there’s this statement from Clampitt: “Michael Brown and I see to eye to eye on many issues, and this made my decision to support him easier.” said Clampitt. “Those who are familiar with my campaign know that advocating for a more business friendly climate in the District, innovating policing and crime fighting initiatives, fighting for full marriage equality and enacting term limits for elected officials are my most important issues.”

Full release after jump. Read the rest of this entry »

At-large council candidate Adam Clampitt issued a media advisory this morning for a “joint news conference” with fellow challenger Michael A. Brown on Monday to announce a “major development” in their campaign against incumbent Carol Schwartz.

Sources tell LL that Clampitt will announce that he his is ending his campaign and endorsing Brown. The presser is scheduled for noon Monday at Eastern Market.

Clampitt raised a lot of eyebrows early in the race by raising thousands from well-heeled donors to the mayoral run of Adrian M. Fenty, leading to scuttlebutt that Clampitt, a 33-year-old public relations executive and Capitol Hill resident, would be anointed by Fenty to oust Schwartz. That support from the mayor seems not to have materialized; his most recent campaign finance report showed Clampitt’s campaign to be some $12,000 in debt. He marched in last week’s Palisades 4th of July Parade with about a half-dozen supporters—a quite smaller contingent than he brought out a year ago as a virtual unknown.

Calls to Clampitt and Brown were not immediately returned.

UPDATE, 12:15 P.M.: Says Clampitt, “No comment.”

UPDATE, 12:30 P.M.: Brown says he has no comment, “not at this time.”

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Michael A. Brown is filing his papers today to officially enter the race for an at-large D.C. Council seat as an independent. He’ll be facing longtime incumbent Carol Schwartz, as well as motivated challengers Adam Clampitt and Dee Hunter, in November for the non-Democratic slot.

Brown, son of legendary Democratic honcho Ron Brown and veteran of failed runs for mayor and Ward 4 councilmember, spent almost two months pondering his run on an exploratory basis. This time, Brown says, he’s really done his homework, leading him to believe he has a winning strategy. “It’s been all scientific,” he says. “When I ran for mayor, it was kind of on gut. Ward 4 council—that was half gut, half scientific.”

His winning issues, Brown says, are a bit of a reprise from his mayoral run, where he made youth issues a centerpiece of his campaign. This time, he says, he’ll be focused on the disposition of closed school buildings—”I am not a proponent of selling every asset we have for condo development. There is no reason those assets shouldn’t be turned into libraries, vocational centers, senior centers”—and a “lack of opportunity” for youth.

In addition, Brown—who has a background in municipal finance—says he’s concerned about the District’s debt load and advocates refinancing bond issues for the baseball stadium and the convention center. “We need to take advantage of the rates now, get the payments down,” he says.

A big question is whether Brown, 42, is willing to give up his lucrative lobbying gig to be a full-time councilmember—a pledge so far given by all his opponents. He recently left the lobbying firm Alcalde & Fay to join Boston-based Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge.

“I haven’t made that assessment,” Brown says, citing a need to speak with current councilmembers with side gigs such as Ward 2’s Jack Evans and at-large member David Catania about their experiences. “My first priority will be the people of the District of Columbia.”

Brown says he has no events planned until later next month, when he will conduct an eight-ward “whistle-stop tour” on Metro.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Weekend marked an end to a mid-winter Sunday slump for the Washington Post. Readable articles this time included:

*Definitive assessment of ravages of condo conversion trend. Sure, story’s a decade old, but still compelling.

*More immersion on the drama of the superdelegate votes for Hillary and Obama.

*The last word, hopefully, on Charlotte Allen’s idiotic piece on women and her editor’s craven pursuit of buzz.

*A solid piece by Liza Mundy on the true meaning of those marriage vows that you parroted without really thinking about.

*The Examiner’s prize bit of wire copy discusses bad water being used by the troops in Iraq.

*The Washington Times could have come up with a less duh headline than this one: “Pennsylvania demographics resemble Ohio”. Well, you don’t say.

*New York Times Mag–in the Money Issue–goes deep on the impact of celebs in advancing do-gooder causes worldwide.

Yesterday, LL reported that former mayoral candidate Michael A. Brown is officially exploring a run for the non-Democratic at-large council seat now held by Carol Schwartz. LL polled his likely competition.

Says Dee Hunter: “Mike Brown’s political instincts in the the past haven’t been good,” he says. “This is a guy who ran for mayor, dropped out, got 600 votes, then turned around and endorsed Linda Cropp days before Adrian Fenty won every precinct in the city….I think his political instincts are off in this race, too.”

Says Adam Clampitt: “Regardless of who is in the race, I represent the best candidate to beat Carol Schwartz,” he says. “This is all about door-knocking. Whoever knocks on the most doors wins, and I’ve knocked on the most doors.”

Says Schwartz: No comment, through a spokesperson.