Graham Gets Cold Feet . . . Again

By Eric M. Weiss and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 23, 2006

Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) has decided not to run for council chairman. Graham said he enjoys his job far too much to risk it all on a citywide campaign.

"I like what I'm doing,'' Graham told the Notebook, "and there are unfinished tasks to be done in Ward 1.''

One big unfinished task is the fight over rent control, which is moving to the council's front burner. "By running in Ward 1, I remove any question about what's motivating me to work so hard for tenants,'' Graham said, referring to the possibility that some might accuse him of using that issue as a springboard to a higher office. "Now I can really concentrate on tenant advocacy.''

So far, Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) has officially entered the race to replace Council chairman Linda W. Cropp (D), who is running for mayor. Council member Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7) is expected to jump in this week.

Graham's decision marks the second time in two years his feet have grown cold as he pondered a run at citywide office. In 2002, he acceded to Cropp's request that he abandon a challenge to at-large council member Harold Brazil (D). Brazil was later handily defeated by political newcomer Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large).

Fenty's Math Is Cleared

Adrian M. Fenty's mathematical honor has -- mostly -- been avenged: Officials with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance have told him they are satisfied that he did not overstate contributions to his mayoral campaign by more than $21,000, according to campaign officials.

"They have informed me that our report is fine," said Fenty finance director John Falcicchio.

Questions about the Ward 4 council member's bookkeeping arose last week after a former Fenty volunteer filed a complaint with campaign finance officials accusing Fenty of failing to document $21,127.51 in donations. The volunteer, Sulaimon Brown, an auditor by trade, said he caught the alleged mistake by plugging individual contributions detailed in Fenty's Jan. 31 campaign finance report into an Excel spreadsheet and adding them up. Brown said the result fell substantially short of Fenty's declared total of $692,342.51 for the period between Aug. 1 and Jan. 31.

Together with money collected last summer, Fenty (D) had reported raising $905,800.51 since he entered the race in June, putting him ahead of all other candidates. Council chairman Linda W. Cropp (D) came in second, raising a reported $821,233.29 since September.

Fenty campaign manager Alec Evans has acknowledged that Fenty's report contained a number of errors, including six contributions and two expenditures that were double-counted. But the mistakes added up to only about $1,000, Evans said, and Fenty filed an amended report Tuesday showing receipts at just over $902,000.

Evans has described Brown as "disgruntled," and Brown acknowledged that he quit the campaign after Fenty treated him "with arrogance and disrespect," insisting that he accompany Fenty to a campaign event even though Brown had a chest cold. Fenty also declined to pay Brown a salary, Brown said, or reimburse him for routine expenses, such as gasoline.

Brown said he continues to doubt Fenty's trustworthiness. As of press time Tuesday, he said, campaign finance officials were still telling him that his complaint is "under review."

Campaign finance officials could not be reached by press time Tuesday.

The Candidate of Urban Youth

Speaking of the mayor's race, candidate Michael A. Brown (D) is working hard to establish himself as the candidate of disaffected urban youth. First there were his lectures about families failing to save their kids from the "hip-hop culture." Now he's hosting the "Go-Go Summit."

According to a release from Brown's new communications director, former Washington Times reporter Robert Redding Jr., Brown plans to moderate the event tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Friendship Collegiate Academy, 4095 Minnesota Ave. NE. It will be, the release says, "the first in a series of community-based issue discussions focused on youth concerns and solutions."

"It is clear that young people must be involved in helping to solve many of the issues that face this city," Brown said in a written statement. "They are our future leaders and a Brown administration will ensure that the voices of our city's youth are heard."

Sadly, disaffected urban youth tend not to invest their disposable income in local politics. Campaign finance records show that Brown trails all other major mayoral candidates in fundraising and has less than $25,000 in the bank as the race for mayor begins in earnest.

Marshall's Big Plan

He's calling his campaign platform -- what else? -- the Marshall Plan.

Bruce A. Marshall, former director of the city's Department of Administrative Services and aide to former Ward 5 council member William R. Spaulding (D), announced earlier this week that he is running for his mentor's old job. The Ward 5 seat is being vacated by Vincent B. Orange Sr., who has his hands full running for mayor.

This Marshall plan does not include billions to rebuild Europe. It does, however, call for an increase in public safety, better public schools and support for seniors.