The caucus, which voted 37 to 1 for D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray over Fenty, is muy cabreado that Fenty didn't show up.

Franklin Garcia, president of the caucus, said he worked with Fenty's folks to change the date of the forum just so the mayor could be there. And he's got the e-mails he says back him up, which he shared with LL.

Here's one Fenty's campaign aide John Falcicchio sent to Garcia on June 17:

Thanks for sending this email and working with us to set July 24th as the date for the DC Latino PAC endorsement.

A day later, Falcicchio sent another email:

Franklin: We've agreed to attend the July 24th endorsement forum. We also appreciate the invitation to send a representative to the June 24th meeting, which we will do. We look forward to seeing you next on the 24th. Thank you for your work, John

But wait! The mayor's folks have the emails that show he was never confirmed, confirmed.  (They've also shared them with LL).

On July 21, Garcia sent Falcicchio a reminder of the upcoming forum, to which Falcicchio replied:

Franklin: As we discussed earlier when you and Angel called me about rescheduling the conflicting forums on the 24th, the Mayor is not confirmed for this event on the 24th. I never heard back from you about your plans. John

To which Garcia replied:

Not sure of what conflict you are referring to John.  You may be thinking of the Ward 5 democrats, we had the Mayor confirmed long ago.  I can forward you emails, maybe you are thinking this is for Ward 5 Democrats?  This is for the Latino Caucus.  Remember you asked me to change the date to accommodate the Mayor to the 24^th?  I can forward you email trail if you are unsure.

To which Falcicchio said:

Thanks, Franklin. There's no e-mail chain because we spoke on the phone on or about July 8th.

Oh snap! Who's still with LL—anyone?

Whoever is to blame, the net result is this: Garcia said there's a lot of anger from caucus members over the no-show. Though that anger might not translate to a lot of votes, it probably adds fuel to the perception that Hizonner is a tad aloof. After all, this is not the first forum the mayor has decided to skip.

Garcia also noted, via email, the irony of Fenty's absence.

Back in 2006 when we hosted the 2006 Latino Mayoral Forum, then Council Chair Linda Cropp did the same thing. All candidates showed for the endorsement meeting, except for leading candidate, Linda Cropp. Ms. Cropp received 2 votes and Adrian Fenty won the endorsement.

Those of you searching for a candidate chomping at the bit to take on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and his $2 million-plus war chest, look out: An honest-to-God 2010 mayoral challenger has made his first nibble.

Well, his dad has, anyway.

Marshall Brown, the longtime political organizer and father of At-Large Councilmember Kwame R. Brown, sent out an e-mail on Sunday night soliciting support for a mayoral draft campaign aimed at his son.

"Would you lend your name to the Kwame Brown for Mayor Draft Committee," the short e-mail asks, telling recipients to "send this to your email list." Two sources consulted by LL also report getting calls from Marshall Brown inquiring whether they might lend support to a Kwame-for-Mayor campaign.

Marshall Brown, reached today, said he was merely passing on the message as a favor to someone he identified as Reggie Robinson.

LL reached Robinson this afternoon; he said he's part of "a bunch of people" who would support a Kwame Brown run: "I mean, we just began to talk about it, that's all." Marshall Brown, he says, sent out some e-mails, and "I sent mine to different other people."

Robinson, a 69-year-old retiree from the D.C. Department of Employment Services, says he's been a friend of Marshall Brown for about 40 years and has known Kwame Brown "since he was a youngster." He's supporting a mayoral run for the younger Brown because, he says, "I think he's qualified for the job."

As for the current mayor, he says, "I'm just totally dissatisfied with him, period—his attitude, everything about him."

Told about the messages his father had sent out, Kwame Brown seemed incredulous. "What?" he exclaimed. "You don't have no e-mail that says that!"

LL informed Brown that he indeed did: "No, it's impossible!"

Brown said he knows "three or four Reggie Robinsons," and thus had no idea who might have been responsible for the creation of the pitch.

LL expressed to him some incredulity that his dad would send out such a message without his knowledge. "I haven't spoken to my dad in about two weeks," he says. "I'm just as shocked as you were if you got an e-mail like that."

Pressed on his electoral intentions, he said, "I have no interest as I've mentioned a hundred time. I dunno how many times I've said it....I'm flattered that people think I've done good work, but right now, I'm concentrated on being an at-large councilmember and a father and that's it."

LL pressed him for an absolute no-2010-run pledge. He didn't get one. "At this moment, I'm not running for mayor," he says. "I'm continuing to focus on education, getting job training for people, and being a great at-large councilmember for the District of Columbia."

Marshall Brown, as it happens, took virtually no visible role in his son's take-no-prisoners re-election campaign last year. The elder Brown, however, has deep city political ties that served his son well in his insurgent run against Harold Brazil in 2004. Less successful was his stint as Linda Cropp's field organizer in 2006. Most recently, he was paid handsomely for running Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss re-election campaign last year.

As for his dad's antics, Kwame Brown says, "Fathers always have aspirations, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything."

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

* Miss the debate? Don't head to the live blogs: Head to the live blog of the live blogs.

* G.W. student blog The Colonialist has a couple photos of Dick Cheney being released from G.W. Hospital. He waves.

* Dear China: Wish we could give you some advice on this whole fledgling democracy thing. Regrets, The United States of America. [via Polymeme]

* Via Talking Points Memo: Ayers, Shmayers; even those people who believe Barack Obama is a terrorist are still voting for him. Says one Obama supporter:

"Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack."

And in this newspaper:

- Photographer Darrow Montgomery and Senior Writer Jason Cherkis document the end of a Columbia Heights relic and ask: Does anybody care?

- Your Reel Affirmations film fest guide.

- In Cheap Seats, Dave McKenna talks race and Redskins. What's black and white and reluctant to integrate all over?

- In Loose Lips, Mike DeBonis does Peter Nickles does Alberto Gonzales.

- and The Sexist launches its Manliest Workplace in D.C. tournament!

Photo by Jason Mogavero