Pannell Hopes 51 Will Be Lucky Number

Philip E. Pannell , one of Southeast Washington's best-known political activists, promises to ignite some sparks in the typically lackluster race for the District's shadow senator.

Pannell, who is challenging incumbent Florence H. Pendleton (D) for the nonvoting seat, said he will limit the amount of money he'll accept for the campaign to $51 per contributor. And, instead of kicking off his candidacy on his home turf in Ward 8, Pannell is planning a big party at the posh Ward 3 home of school board President Peggy Cooper Cafritz .

Of course, Pannell, 55, would never do anything without a considered rationale.

Rationale No. 1, for the weird cash limit: Although contributors may give shadow senatorial candidates as much as $2,000, Pannell is accepting no more than $51 to underscore the District's desire to become the nation's 51st state. To stress the point, he's also putting "51" on campaign buttons instead of his name.

Pannell said he recognizes that it's risky to try to run a citywide campaign on a bare-bones budget, but he said making the case for statehood is worth the effort.

"I want to demonstrate that a grass-roots candidate can run an effective campaign without being beholden to deep-pocket contributors," he said in an e-mail statement.

Rationale No. 2, for the fancy party: Pannell said he knows tongues will wag about his decision to throw a Day of Family Fun at Cafritz's mansion, which has tennis courts, a swimming pool and a hot tub. But "I'm running citywide," he said, "and I practice diversity."

Pannell said he wanted his kickoff to offer "an array of activities" that would have been difficult to find at a single venue in Ward 8. Besides, he said, Georgena's Restaurant and Bar, formerly known as Player's Lounge, will be catering the event.

"You can't get more Ward 8 than that," Pannell said. "We're bringing Ward 8 to Ward 3."

Chairman Hopefuls Face Off

A forum sponsored by the Cleveland Park Citizens Association Saturday featured candidates who described themselves as a "dyed-in-the-wool homey" and an "overnight" homeland security expert.

It was the first head-to-head matchup of council members Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), the "homey," Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), the "overnight" expert, and Ward 5 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Robert V. Brannum in the race to become the next D.C. Council chairman.

As a moderator read questions collected from an audience that was packed with campaign partisans at the Cleveland Park public library, the three candidates outlined themes that are likely to define them for the rest of the campaign season.

Gray has his "one city" mantra, stressing his leadership skills and ability to bring together people divided by income and race. The native Washingtonian described a lifelong career in the District dedicated to public service.

His emphasis on citywide parity seemed to erase any home-field advantage for Patterson, who represents the neighborhood. For example, in answer to a question about development on upper Wisconsin Avenue, Gray said he supports defining it as a "conservation area" and added: "Economic development in the District of Columbia is incredibly uneven. I have one sit-down restaurant to serve 70,000 people."

Patterson stressed her 12 years of strong oversight on the D.C. Council and years of advocacy for the city's public school system. She answered questions by citing legislative actions she has taken and procedures she has implemented. In response to a question about mayoral appointees, Patterson told the group that she has decided to use taxpayer money to do background checks on appointees under her purview, after a résumé fiasco involving a fire chief.

Brannum, meanwhile, offered his street-level perspective on issues, as one of the District's unpaid elected officials.

In lieu of a closing statement, Patterson offered a little story about "how a bill becomes a law." And in two minutes, she described how she "changed the debate" about the recently passed $1 billion school modernization bill from "whether this would happen to how and when it would happen."

Actually, the story seemed more of a rebuttal: Moments earlier, Gray had listed his work on the modernization bill as one of his major legislative accomplishments.

Mayor Gets Special Thanks

The glossy pages of Washington Life ("Washington's premier luxury lifestyle magazine since 1991") are typically filled with photos of the once- and near-famous posing in expensive clothes and smiling blandly. So it came as a shock to open the April issue and see a woman in black lace doing a hootchy-kootchy dance all over D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D).

The woman in question, actress Deanna Harris , was singing "Whatever Tony Wants" after the mayor received a special recognition award from Arena Stage. Williams simply stood there with clasped hands and an embarrassed grin.

Spokeswoman Sharon Gang said the mayor wasn't embarrassed, just "surprised."

"He gets awards all the time," Gang said. "But he doesn't usually get that kind of award. You know?"

Staff writer Lori Montgomery contributed to this report.