Maybe It Was the Free Chicken
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page DZ02
Was City Administrator Robert C. Bobb endorsing lawyer A. Scott Bolden for an at-large council seat when he dropped by the opening of Bolden's campaign headquarters near Eastern Market on Saturday?
"I'm not supporting him," Bobb said. "I'm supporting everybody. . . . I thought I'd come check it out. I've never been by anybody's campaign headquarters. Maybe I'll visit all of them."
Bolden's headquarters looked more like an art gallery, a chic space with high ceilings and hardwood floors. He treated guests to background music by a solo guitarist, a spread of barbecued chicken, baked beans and corn bread, several choices of beer and wine, and door prizes.
But in this gallery, the only portrait on display depicted Bolden: The giant photograph stretched along one wall, his eyes as big as three fists.
Bolden's opponent in the Democratic primary, incumbent council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), said he was not offended by Bobb's presence at the opening.
"I talked to him, and he said he's not supporting" Bolden, Mendelson said. "I think it's much ado about nothing."
A Vote for Mendelson
Speaking of endorsements, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club endorsed Mendelson to retain his seat but stopped short of endorsing a candidate in the chairman's race between council members Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) and Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7).
Patterson took 52 percent of a club vote, but the group requires candidates to get 60 percent to receive the club's endorsement and a monetary contribution.
Mendelson won with exactly 60 percent at the group's Monday meeting. Bolden, Mendelson's opponent, got just 35 percent of the vote after a major flip-flop.
The organization advocates for gay rights. Bolden told the meeting that he supported gay marriage, the exact opposite of what he recently told a group of Baptist ministers.
After Mendelson pointed out Bolden's reversal, Bolden said, "I don't think that government ought to be in your bedroom or my bedroom."
And in a final bit of endorsement news, former U.S. attorney Eric H. Holder Jr. endorsed council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D) in the race for the party's mayoral nomination, praising her focus on improving schools.
