A Soapbox on Wheels
Driver's Lessons on D.C. Mayoral Race Come Complete With a Plug

By Elissa Silverman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 21, 2006

The S2 bus pulled out of Silver Spring at 7:23 Tuesday morning, straddled the D.C.-Maryland border for a few minutes, then came to a jolting stop on Alaska Avenue NW across from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Driver Sidney Davis strode to the middle of the bus and made a public service announcement: There is a critical election in the District this year for mayor -- has everyone decided who they will vote for in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary?

Davis, 60, a native Washingtonian and Metrobus operator since May 2003, said he is worried that people don't have all the facts to make an informed choice. So his bus routes have become a "D.C. Politics Hour" on wheels, a rolling civic conversation on who might best move this city forward -- strictly within the speed limit, of course.

Jovial and smiling as riders boarded, Davis began his lecture. Headphones were removed from ears, and faces emerged from behind newspapers. "If you don't have a choice, I'd like you to consider the records," he told the dozen or so commuters, many of whom were clearly startled by his speech. And if they hadn't made up their minds, he had a recommendation among the five leading contenders. And he just happened to have pamphlets on hand.

As the race for mayor enters its final month, the leading candidates have shifted into high gear to woo voters. Glossy campaign brochures are landing in District mailboxes, television ads will soon hit the airwaves, and once-polite community forums have turned into bouts of mudslinging.

But Davis said the District voters he encounters every day know little about the candidates. On his voyage across the city, Davis chatted up his riders: a multicultural mix of white-collar professionals who commute from Shepherd Park and Crestwood to downtown offices, Latinos who pack the aisles in the afternoon headed to and from jobs in the city and suburbs, and young people lugging yoga mats and iPods between Dupont Circle and Mount Pleasant.

The S2 bus, which mostly travels along 16th Street, cuts through three wards of the city, including Ward 4, which is the political base for the front-runner in the Democratic primary, council member Adrian M. Fenty. D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp, who is second in the polls, also lives in Ward 4, as does candidate and lobbyist Michael A. Brown. Other candidates include Marie C. Johns, a former telecommunications executive, and council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (Ward 5) -- Davis's pick.

Heading southbound from Silver Spring on Tuesday morning, Davis's riders gave the impression it was a two-person race for mayor.

"I'm for Fenty," said Barbara Daniels, who boarded the S2 at Sheridan Street near Rock Creek Golf Course. Daniels said that although Cropp visited her church, she liked the youthful energy displayed by Fenty, who represents her neighborhood.

Zenaida Mendez, who works for the National Organization for Women, said she prefers Cropp (D) because the city needs more women in office.

Davis urged both women, as well as other passengers on the route, to check voting records and do their homework on the candidates. "The absence of information always makes you more vulnerable," he said, as the relatively new blue-and-white Metrobus idled and waited for a light to turn green.

Davis stressed that he is only exchanging information and provoking discussion, but he sometimes goes beyond that. He engaged riders with a gentle nudge of the arm as they robotically slapped SmarTrip cards and wiggled dollars bills into the fare box. "Are you a D.C. voter?" he asked one rider. "Have you made a decision in the mayor's race?"

The man looked puzzled.

"If you're undecided, you might want to try some vitamin C," he said as he handed over a card promoting Orange .

"Oh, Vincent Orange?" asked Geoffrey Gibson, as he climbed aboard the S2 near Military Road. "That's who my mother's pushing."

Davis became involved in this year's election at the urging of Orange supporter Al-Malik Farrakhan, a leader of the anti-violence group Cease Fire . . . Don't Smoke the Brothers Inc.

"I know Sidney's work and Sidney's passion for change," Farrakhan said. "I had to seek him out."

Davis's talents as an organizer are well known, particularly in the city's ex-offender community. During the 21 years he served at Lorton prison for first-degree murder, a crime Davis said he didn't commit, he said he experienced a spiritual transformation and became a leader among inmates. Through a friendship with Joe Wheeler, a local businessman who tried at one time to bring Major League Baseball back to the District, Davis created a program that introduced the Special Olympics behind the prison gate.

He also used the time to earn his general equivalency diploma and bachelor's degree in urban planning from the University of the District of Columbia.

Orange, who hesitated to say much when first approached by a reporter, later said he was happy to have Davis's support. "He served his time, and now he's making a contribution to society. He provides hope for ex-offenders that they can do the same thing," Orange said.

Davis said few riders object to his distributing literature, but Metro officials said it is "inappropriate." "If he was strictly having a conversation, then he would be okay," said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel, but handing out brochures and leaving his seat to discuss the race is improper.

Davis said he's unaware of a written Metro policy that he is violating.

He just wants riders to be as well informed as he was when he chose his candidate for mayor. He said that he met Cropp, Fenty and Johns but that Orange's personal story of overcoming poverty and his emphasis on education, economic development and employment won him over.

"The three Es and a H," Davis said, adding health care.

Davis said he won't abandon support for his candidate even though Orange is in single digits, according to several polls.

Riders, for the most part, said they appreciated Davis's unique campaign forum.

Keith Sandbloom, who hopped on at Lamont Street in Mount Pleasant, told Davis that he's "leaning toward Fenty." Sandbloom said that he liked Fenty's pragmatic style but that he welcomed any substantive discussion about the election. "It's kind of a challenge to get the information you need to make a good decision -- more challenging than I thought it would be," Sandbloom said as he took a seat near the front and perused Orange's literature.

At times during the ride, Davis moved his right hand in a circular motion, a signal that he was "stirring it up."

"It's all about awareness," Davis said. "Now that they've been made aware, they can make a decent decision."

Davis is a regular at campaign forums, where he sometimes ends up after his evening routes. At a forum in Takoma Park on Tuesday night, Davis was happy to spot a convert who had gotten involved: a fellow driver he had been talking with about the mayor's race.

"I came here tonight so I could learn for myself," said Jerel Lucas, who often drives the 70 route on Georgia Avenue.