Where the Boys Aren't

By Nikita Stewart and Elissa Silverman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 12, 2007

The District's Gertrude Stein Democratic Club met the other day to endorse a candidate for the open Ward 7 D.C. Council seat. But there was a strange absence: None of the nine male candidates showed up.

Of the 18 candidates, only four women appeared.

And people noticed.

Philip Pannell, a member of the club of gay, lesbian and transgender Democrats, said the reason no male candidates showed up is obvious: They are homophobic.

"You can quote me on that," Pannell said. "The fact that none of the men showed up clearly made a statement. They should realize that council members represent everybody in the ward. It was too glaring an omission for none of the Ward 7 men to show up."

Five other female candidates did not attend either.

Candidate Kirk Adair said he's not homophobic, just a little tired of attending events, especially because he is taking night classes at the University of the District of Columbia toward a master's degree in business.

"I answered their questionnaire," Adair said. "A lot of these events that I skip class for aren't worth it. . . . I'm just being real."

Yvette M. Alexander, Dorothy Douglas, Iris Toyer and Emily Y. Washington attended, Pannell said. Alexander won the club's endorsement, as did Michael A. Brown for the Ward 4 council seat and Sekou Biddle for the Board of Education. Biddle had to face candidate Martin Levine in a runoff because neither received 60 percent of the vote, Pannell said.

The endorsements differed from the top ratings earned by candidates from the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington last month.

Brown was again a winner, but Alexander and Biddle didn't make the grade, based on the organization's rating system. Top points went to Brown, Washington and Levine, as well as Ward 7 candidate Johnnie Scott Rice and school board candidate Mai Abdul Rahman.

Staff Working Off Strauss Debt

D.C.'s shadow delegation -- the elected officials who have titles but no actual seats in Congress -- have been quite busy lately, working to drum up support for Monday's voting rights march.

But staff members for shadow Sen. Paul Strauss (D) worked the John A. Wilson Building hallways last week for another cause: They were hand-delivering invitations to Strauss's 43rd birthday party to mayoral and D.C. Council employees.

"We hope to see you on 4-11 to help celebrate Paul's Birthday, and help us retire some campaign debt from the last election," the postcard-size invitation reads. "Contributions can be made to 'Strauss for Ward 3 Council.' "

According to campaign finance reports, Strauss's campaign spent $155,000 in his failed bid to win the open Ward 3 D.C. Council seat, which included a $69,500 loan that needs to be re-paid.

Some City Hall staffers have raised questions about Strauss's use of his office staff for what is essentially a political fundraiser. The positions of shadow senator and representative were created largely to help lobby for representation in the federal legislature.

Strauss acknowledged that he had more campaign debt than he would like. But when asked whether he directed his staff to deliver the invitations, Strauss said he "didn't know."

"People drop stuff off at offices all the time," he said.

Marathon Man

The results are in from last weekend's 35-mile ultra marathon in Cape Town, South Africa, and it's official: Gregory McCarthy, the former aide to ex-mayor Anthony A. Williams finished the race and survived to tell about it.

He reports by e-mail that he finished in 6 hours 18 minutes, receiving a medal for his efforts. The race was run in 88-degree weather and included 600- to 800-foot hills and U.S. rock and African folk songs performed by bands along the route.

"I wore appropriate clothing -- stars and stripes running shorts, a Fleet Feet top, and 'no taxation without representation' visor," McCarthy wrote. "It was certainly the most challenging thing I have ever attempted, except for Council-Mayor breakfasts."

Staff writer David Nakamura contributed to this report.