In D.C. Drama Over Baseball, It's Hard to Tell Who's on First

A Would-Be Mayor

With Williams struggling to win supporters, the job fell to Cropp, the powerful chairman, who had orchestrated the council's narrow approval of the stadium financing package last December.

But as the stadium costs rose, Cropp found it increasingly difficult to support the project. And Cropp's chief rival in the 2006 mayoral race, council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), had denounced the project long ago.

To solve her problem, Cropp re-floated a trial balloon she tried last year: How about moving the project to a cheaper site near Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium?

Cropp worked the phones and believed she had nine members willing to support the RFK option. But Baseball President Robert A. DuPuy ruled out such a move in a sharply worded letter. Then, on Dec. 12, Natwar M. Gandhi, the city's chief financial officer, said the RFK plan would cost $606 million -- too steep for most council members.

Somewhat reluctantly, Cropp again threw her support behind the mayor and joined his lobbying campaign. In a half-dozen calls to Mendelson, Cropp warned him to think twice before aligning with Barry in an election year.

But Cropp was unsuccessful in her efforts to bring anyone else on board. In particular, government officials were stunned that Cropp was unable to convince Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large), who is her co-campaign manager.

"People put the spin on it that Cropp was going to force me to vote to make her look good," Brown said. "But I don't change my view from what I promised the residents."

A Smooth Former Mayor

As the mayor's support waned, Barry saw his opportunity.

The four-time former mayor has his well-known flaws, but he remains a master in the areas where Williams is weak. Barry (D) is quick with a quip, loves to schmooze with the public and relishes cutting backroom deals.

"The mayor is stuck on stuck," Barry said. "This billion-dollar stadium is the worst stickup since Jesse James was robbing trains."

Several of Barry's colleagues on the council have long political ties to him, which worked to his advantage as he swung into action. Brown grew up watching him. Gray once worked for him as head of the city's human services department. And Ambrose was a council staffer during Barry's mayoral years.

"Barry called me and said, 'I'm working on something,' " said Brown, who joined others in Barry's office Dec. 15. "Marion does not want to see baseball leave. He wants to figure out how to make this happen."