Lines Form to Fill Fenty, Gray Seats

Potential Candidates Test Political Waters

A dozen people equipped with BlackBerries, clipboards and green-and-white stickers descended on the streets of Riggs Park on Saturday. They knocked on doors, handed out glossy literature and promised to return with yard signs.

Residents in the Ward 4 neighborhood were puzzled. Hadn't local elections ended less than a week earlier?

Not everywhere in the District. Special balloting in the spring will fill council positions to be vacated by Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) and council Chairman-elect Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7).

The race in Ward 4 has attracted intrigue and a bit of confusion. Muriel Bowser, a Riggs Park advisory neighborhood commissioner, was zigzagging the streets over the weekend to convince neighbors that she is the best person to fill Fenty's leather-worn shoes.

She has good reason to define herself early. She doesn't want to be confused with Renée Bowser, who a day earlier had stood at an elementary school in Petworth and announced her intention to seek the same job.

Muriel and Renée are not related, and neither is officially a candidate. They are "exploring" a run until the seat is certified vacant. According to D.C. law, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has five days to do that after Fenty is sworn in as mayor Jan. 2. The election will probably take place the first week in May.

Such special elections often attract many candidates, because voter turnout is low and the office can be won with a small base of support. In April 1997, Sharon Ambrose (D) triumphed over 11 competitors for an open Ward 6 council seat with 2,888 votes. Only 27 percent of registered voters in Ward 6 voted.

The Ward 4 race is shaping up to be crowded. The two Bowsers have been handing out literature since Election Day and raising money for their exploratory efforts. Two other candidates have emerged, Taalib-Din "T.A." Uqdah and Michael A. Brown. More are rumored to be jumping in soon.

Brown knows something about name confusion in elections. The former Democratic mayoral candidate withdrew in the final days of the September primary, endorsing Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D). Cropp lost, but Brown said that another candidate did benefit: Fellow Democrat Michael D. Brown, relatively unknown, was on the primary ballot for the shadow senator seat and won handily.

So, to recap: There's a flurry of people in Ward 4 who are not really running yet for a job that isn't available. And at least two want to be like Fenty, right down to their campaign colors.

While Muriel Bowser canvassed Saturday morning, T.A. Uqdah stood in Northwest at 14th and Crittenden streets in front of a green-and-white sign featuring his name and the question: "Your Next Ward 4 D.C. City Councilman?"

Uqdah, who owns a salon specializing in natural hair care, said that his color choice is deliberate. It is the same as Fenty's.

"Yes, I did it on purpose," said Uqdah, who waged a losing bid in 1992 for the Ward 4 seat as an independent. "Those are colors of a winner."

Fenty has said he supports Muriel Bowser, and some of those canvassing in Riggs Park were key field operators in Fenty's mayoral campaign.

Renée Bowser, who is an attorney for a local union and will be running as a Statehood Green candidate, said she is relying on something else.

"I'm emphasizing my first name," Bowser said. "Since we don't look at all alike . . . people will know the difference."