Candidates Judged On Printing of Signs

Local, Union Shops Not Always Used

Signs from candidates Tony Town and Charles Gaither line Alaska Avenue. (James M. Thresher - Twp)

Call it the yard sign test.

The colorful posters seem to be everywhere in Ward 4, where the 19 candidates vying to fill the D.C. Council seat vacated by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty are trying to grab voter attention for the May 1 special election.

To Anthony Shepherd and the half-dozen print shop owners in Ward 4, the yard signs determine which candidates practice what they preach when it comes to economic development. Only 25 percent of the more than $75,000 spent on campaign materials has been spent at Ward 4 businesses, according to a Washington Post examination of campaign finance reports.

"I've always found it interesting how many people run in this ward and don't patronize any of the printers in this area," said Shepherd, owner of Quality Printers on Kennedy Street NW.

Most of the 19 candidates say supporting small businesses and neighborhood-based retail is central to advancing economic development in the ward, but only about half have patronized Ward 4 printers to get out their message, as of March 12 in the most recent candidate filings with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance.

The candidates' declarations showed no correlation between the use of local businesses with the amount of campaign funds raised.

Ward 4 hopeful Muriel Bowser, who has raised $287,000, more than any other candidate, has said that promoting small business in the ward is a top priority. Her campaign literature promises to develop "partnerships among residents, government, and businesses to ensure that everyone benefits from D.C.'s growing prosperity."

Bowser has spent almost $30,000 on printing signs and other campaign materials, using firms in downtown Washington, outside the ward and in Prince George's County, according to her campaign finance filings. Shepherd said he has printed invitations for Bowser recently.

"We definitely need to make sure we take advantage of businesses in the ward where we can, but we need to meet certain timelines," said Bowser, who is an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Riggs Park.

Among those who gave significant money to local businesses, data show that community activist Carroll Green and former school board member Dwight E. Singleton spent more than 80 percent of their money inside the ward. Green, president of the Manor Park Citizens Association, spent about $9,000 in the ward and $950 outside it, mostly at Staples in Silver Spring. He said he is for "controlled, neighborhood-friendly" projects and said that patronizing local stores is the best way to encourage more businesses to open in the area.

Singleton, who served on the school board from 2000-04, reported spending $4,700 in the ward and a little more than $800 in Wheaton.

Also catering to ward businesses was Lisa P. Bass, whose campaign slogan is "Building community -- block by block." She has spent several thousand dollars at Quality Printers, according to her March campaign report, but initially paid for almost $900 of printing in Temple Hills.