Brown Gets His Endorsements Elsewhere

By Yolanda Woodlee and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 25, 2006

What can two former big-city mayors do for Michael A. Brown ? Something that Mayor Anthony A. Williams didn't do: endorse Brown for mayor of the nation's capital.

So what if they're in Atlanta and New York and the voters are in Washington? Brown says this shows that "no one else has the reach I have."

Brown traveled to New York on Tuesday to receive a "key endorsement" from former New York mayor David N. Dinkins at the 40/40 Club, where Big Apple supporters were to pay $150 to attend a late-night reception for Brown's Democratic primary campaign.

On the same day last week that Williams endorsed Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D), Andrew Young , former congressman, United Nations ambassador and Atlanta mayor, endorsed Brown.

Brown said that Williams's backing of Cropp came as no surprise and that he wouldn't have accepted Williams's support. It was evident, Brown said, that they "didn't share the same vision for the city" after the mayor kicked him off the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission last year.

Not so with Young and Dinkins, friends of Brown's father, the late commerce secretary Ronald H. Brown . They describe the younger Brown as a "visionary" leader who can bridge differences, according to statements released by Brown's campaign.

"Michael Brown, the son of the late Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown, is a well-qualified, historical witness to visionary leadership in this country," Dinkins said in a statement. Young said Brown's "ability to cross class, cultural, general and age barriers should help D.C. to finally get full citizenship."

Brown was in Atlanta to raise funds for his campaign, which he last reported in March as having less than $12,000 in cash. Young endorsed him in front of a crowd of about 150 who paid $100 to attend a reception at an African American-owned art gallery.

"If the team around me, whether in New York or Atlanta, is going to help me, then [voters] will say he's the most qualified and connected," Brown said. "That means something to people."

'Can't Even Get a Trash Can'

The new condominiums sprouting in the Penn Quarter/Chinatown neighborhood have lured thousands of residents to downtown Washington in recent years. But some charge that city services have not kept pace with the burgeoning population.

Exhibit A: the disturbing lack of public trash cans.

That, of course, is not the only annoyance, according to Miles Groves , president of the residents association at the Cosmopolitan, which opened last year on Sixth Street NW near Gallery Place. Streetlights are out, police patrols are sparse and garbage collection sporadic, he said.

Up the street, Groves said, a little corner store sells single cans of beer, creating lots of trash. In his alley, he said, homeless people dig through trash bins, making a bigger mess. And, with no public restrooms nearby, he said, they relieve themselves on the spot.

"It's absolutely disgusting," Groves said, and just one of the problems community leaders pointed out to city officials during a recent neighborhood walk-through arranged by Terry Lynch , executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations.

While some problems can't be resolved overnight, the group figured it would start small by requesting a few extra public trash cans on the streets.

On Monday, however, the community got bad news:

"Please note that DPW have no public space litter cans in stock," Department of Public Works employee Kevin Bryant wrote in an e-mail. "A responsive Bidder have not been awarded the contract at this time. We do not expect to receive the first shipment of litter cans until Oct. 06. We are not taking additional requests at this time due to the increasing back log, however we will assess the area for other measures to reduce any litter issues."

Groves was appalled. "You have 3,000 people who weren't here five years ago, all paying taxes in D.C., paying transfer taxes and all paying property taxes," he said. "And we can't even get a trash can."

Williams Regrets Swearing

After demanding an apology from Bishop Alfred A. Owens Jr. for calling gay men sissies and faggots in a Palm Sunday sermon, Williams found himself making apologies for his own inappropriate remarks -- specifically a couple of "God damn its" that burst out of the mayoral mouth under goading from WTOP and Washington Post Radio political analyst Mark Plotkin .

At the mayor's weekly press briefing, Plotkin was pushing Williams about the D.C. voting rights bill that had just won approval by a House committee. Plotkin wanted to know if Williams would commit to calling President Bush about the bill.

Williams explained that it can be difficult to reach Bush, so he probably would talk to someone else. As usual, that wasn't good enough for Plotkin.

"Look, Mark, God damn it," the mayor said, in his first verbal slip.

Williams later apologized for using the expression, both to reporters and specifically to Susan Newman , his religious adviser. He later explained that, as a good Christian, he doesn't believe in using the expression at all.

"With all seriousness and sincerity, I will apologize a fourth time," Williams said. "As a Christian man, I think it's inappropriate to use the term, period, and certainly it's inappropriate to use in a public setting."

Staff writer Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.