Democratic Posts Spark Vigorous Race

Several of the most spirited races in Tuesday's primary election are for seats on the D.C. Democratic State Committee.

Two slates of candidates -- the Victory 2004 slate, made up largely of incumbents, and the Running Against Bush slate, made up primarily of former Howard Dean campaigners and newcomers -- are vying for the party posts. Several candidates who are not affiliated with either slate are also on the ballot.

The state committee encourages voter registration and supports Democratic candidates. Its constitution calls for 72 members, including 12 at-large members (six men and six women); 32 ward members (two men and two women from each ward); four national and alternate committee persons and eight ward chairpersons. In addition, 12 ex-officio members are nominated by the executive committee and approved by the body at large. The Young Democrats organization also chooses four members, two of whom are national committee representatives. They are automatically recognized by the Democratic State Committee.

After this election, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club will also choose two representatives to represent the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community in the Democratic State Committee.

The goals of the Running Against Bush slate are: to hold the first binding D.C. primary; to organize swing state voters to elect John Kerry; to provide fresh ideas; and to hold regular neighborhood issue forums with elected officials to discuss community concerns. The Victory 2004 slate, which supports the Democratic State Committee chairman, A. Scott Bolden, focuses on electing the Kerry-Edwards ticket, youth outreach, filling all the seats on working committees and making sure the state committee's membership reflects the diverse population of the city.

In addition, there are two ward-specific slates: the Ward 8 Democrats for Progress slate is represented by four candidates who have years of political involvement. The Ward 1 Democrats slate is made up of incumbents.

D.C. Republicans elected their Republican Committee leadership at a caucus in February, and no candidates for those posts will appear on the primary ballot. No party positions for the D.C. Statehood Green Party are to be decided in Tuesday's election.

The offices and candidates are:

National Committeeman

Arrington Dixon: Independent. Former council member, running unopposed.

Alternate National Committeeman

James Bubar: Victory 2004 slate. Lawyer, running unopposed.

National Committeewoman

Marilyn Tyler Brown: Victory 2004 slate. Director of Cathedral Scholars program at Washington National Cathedral and former associate superintendent of DC public schools. At-large member of the DC Democratic State Committee. Campaign chairman for Linda W. Cropp in 1996 and 2000; volunteered for campaigns of Clinton/Gore in 1996 and Gore/Lieberman in 2000.

Barbara Lett Simmons: Independent incumbent. Led an effort to recall Mayor Anthony A. Williams and protested the District's lack of voting representation in Congress by refusing to cast a vote for Gore in the 2004 Electoral College. Former three-term school board member.

Alternate National Committeewoman

Amanda "Amy" Hatcher-Lyon: Victory 2004 slate. Running unopposed.

At-large Committeewomen

Hope Tucker Stewart: Independent. First vice president of Ward 4 Democrats for two years; at-large ex-officio female Democratic State Committee member. Executive director and founder of the National Housing Corporation, a nonprofit organization.

Kirsten Burgard: Running Against Bush slate. Precinct captain for Dukakis-Bentsen, campaigned for Clinton-Gore, managed Kucinich for Congress in 1996. Loan specialist with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Esther Garcia: Running Against Bush slate. Former district director for Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Tex.), congressional aide for former Rep. J.J. Pickle (D-Tex.) Latino community outreach specialist, also involved in international development projects in Latin America.