Brown Fanning the Campaign Flames

In the District's mayoral race, lobbyist Michael A. Brown is the self-declared underdog.

"Absolutely," Brown (D) said earlier this week. "But I relish that. We are really the only true outsider in this race. There have been four mayors in this city's history, and only one has come from the city council. From that standpoint, the odds are in our favor."

With those odds, Brown acknowledges, he's got his work cut out for him.

And to keep fueling momentum in his campaign, he's got to find some headlining issues, attention-grabbing constituencies and deep-pocketed donors.

For the past week, he's tried to do just that.

On Friday, he attracted 150 youth to his "Go-Go Summit" for urban youth. It's a group Brown hopes to get engaged in city issues: After all, some of the students will be of voting age by September.

On Sunday, Brown, along with some campaign volunteers, stood outside the Tenley-Friendship library in upper Northwest to "tout the need for libraries to stay open all weekend" and to "boost literacy" in the District. Because the library was closed, Brown glad-handed shoppers on their way to Best Buy.

The highlight of Brown's campaign this week was an endorsement from the Latino Coalition, a nonpartisan organization that addresses policy issues.

The group's president, Robert de Posada , said Brown "understands our issues. Few candidates in this race really understand small business. It was an easy decision."

Brown, who was once part-owner of the Spanish weekly La Nacion, said the endorsement was "an important part of building bridges."

Although some coalition members wrote checks for $250 at the breakfast meeting at the City Club of Washington, the campaign said, the group still plans to hold a fundraiser for Brown, who has less than $25,000 in his campaign coffers, later this spring.

"It'll be tough throughout the election," Brown said. "It's going to be a struggle all along the way."