Attorney general hopeful Edward “Smitty” Smith and D.C. Council at-large candidate Elissa Silverman both received some help standing out from their competition in their respective down-ballot races this afternoon, thanks to endorsements from the District’s local AFL-CIO labor coalition.
The endorsements from the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO are almost as notable for whom the unions didn’t endorse. The labor group didn’t make an endorsement in Ward 3, where Councilmember Mary Cheh faces an easy re-election.
The Council also didn’t make a second endorsement in the race for two at-large seats, potential payback for incumbent Democrat Anita Bonds switching her vote last year to oppose the Large Retailer Accountability Act even after the “Walmart bill” was doomed by Vince Gray‘s veto. (LL notes that Muriel Bowser‘s own opposition to the LRAA didn’t stop her from winning the group’s mayoral nod.)
The Council also backed Brianne Nadeau and Charles Allen, the Democratic nominees and presumptive councilmembers in wards 1 and 6, respectively. The umbrella labor group didn’t take a position on the initiative to legalize marijuana.
Silverman says she hopes the Metropolitan Washington Council endorsement will mean more volunteers backing her campaign.
“It’s a very big deal,” Silverman says.
Smith predicts that the endorsements for his attorney general campaign are just beginning. Indeed, less than an hour the labor group endorsed Smith, liberal Jewish group Jews United for Justice backed him, too.
Photo by Will Sommer