Ward 7 Incumbent Holds On to Tough Image, Message

By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 6, 2008

D.C. Council member Yvette M. Alexander rubs some people the wrong way.

She knows it.

"What you see is what you get with me," said Alexander (D). "I have an open door. My mouth is open, too. . . . Sometimes, political correctness doesn't get it done. Honesty and candor is the way to get it done."

The native Washingtonian has represented Ward 7 for a little more than a year, after handily winning a special election against 16 opponents. Buoyed by an endorsement from popular council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), who vacated the Ward 7 seat for the chairman's post, Alexander scooped up 35 percent of the vote.

For the Sept. 9 Democratic primary, she has racked up endorsements from labor unions and even a few former opponents. But as she hits the campaign trail to pursue a four-year term, she is an incumbent with mixed reviews -- so mixed that Robin Hammond Marlin, who worked on her campaign last year, is running against her and has a core following.

Alexander, 45, a former insurance regulator, has a say-anything, -anywhere attitude that she delivers in a jovial package. Her style differs from the polished presentation of predecessors such as Gray, former director of the city's Department of Human Services, and Kevin P. Chavous, a lawyer.

Her critics, however, say their complaints go beyond her style: Alexander is not moving fast enough to draw economic development to the ward, has failed to hire its residents to work in key positions in her council office and does not consult community leaders in establishing her position on issues.

Alexander fires back: Three of her five staff members are ward residents, and millions of development dollars are planned for the area, which is east of the Anacostia River. As far as lawmaking goes, she proudly points to having introduced citywide legislation that forced the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and the Water and Sewer Authority to quickly repair the city's broken fire hydrants. It was a move that became critical when poor water pressure was cited for the destruction of buildings in high-profile blazes last year.

But in the ward, it's a lack of consultation that has folks in a tizzy, critics say. For example, Alexander voted to table a noise bill aimed at quieting protesters in residential areas, despite a resolution by the Hillcrest Community Civic Association to back the legislation.

Alexander later voted for an amended bill after it was returned to the agenda.

Such actions have stirred a whisper campaign against her. "I get a warm reception in public," Alexander said. "What people say behind my back is another thing."

To understand Ward 7, with its mixture of some of the city's poorest residents and some of its wealthiest, it's important to understand Hillcrest, a community of middle- and upper-class African Americans. It is one of the most powerful voting bases in the city and is known as a kingmaker. Or queenmaker. Residents there can boast of drafting Anthony A. Williams into his first mayoral bid. It is a community that values decorum and an image of effectiveness. In a ward race, winning Hillcrest means winning the ward.

And frustrating Hillcrest can bring trouble for a candidate.

Vincent Spaulding, former president of the Hillcrest association, said he has been somewhat out of the loop lately but has heard the rumblings of resentment, ones that he said may be premature and based more on personality.

"I think she's learning on the job," he said.

He praised her responsiveness to his concerns about litter in the ward. And her boisterous personality?

"Well, I can't comment on that," he said, laughing.

Barbara Morgan, president of the Dupont Park Civic Association, is aware of the whispers about Alexander and was one of the few community leaders who spoke openly. Morgan supported one of Alexander's opponents last year and now backs Marlin.

"I just don't think personally that enough attention has been given to the constituents that she serves," she said. "What piece of legislation has she written and sponsored for Ward 7? Not co-sponsored?"

Gray said he endorsed Alexander because of her long history of community service and activism in the Democratic Party.

The criticism is unwarranted, he said, adding, "It's so unfair because everyone else has gotten four years to prove themselves." Alexander said she has been perceived as outspoken since she was a girl growing up in Ward 7's Penn Branch area, attending Holy Redeemer Catholic School.

"She was very opinionated and hard to change if she expressed herself as liking something or not liking something," said her mother, Diane Alexander.

Alexander also challenged authority growing up.

In ninth grade, there was an after-school dance, Yvette Alexander recalled. When a fight occurred as the event began, the school canceled the dance. "I began a rally that we wanted our money back," said Alexander, sitting in her office in the Wilson Building.

She pumped her fists as if reliving it all, though she ended up with detention and no reimbursement.

She said she has been more successful as a freshman council member, and is baffled by the criticism. It may stem, she said, from her focusing on the ward's disenfranchised areas. "I try to help those who are most in need first," she said.

Neighborhood groups, such as Hillcrest and Penn Branch, "know how to get things done, but there are some people who don't know how."

It's not just Hillcrest, some say.

The area gets wrongly perceived as being full of snobby, "upper-crust" people, Marlin, 52, said. "I'm going to make sure this notion of Hillcrest is dispelled. . . . We are caring, concerned people."

Marlin declined to speak about Alexander, but noted, "For four years, we need a committed, serious person." Another opponent, Villareal Johnson, 31, didn't hesitate. Alexander happened to walk into Denny's, the ward's one sit-down restaurant, as he criticized her visibility. No one came up immediately to greet her, he said. "Every time, you're in a space, people should know who you are."

But Alexander had no problem drawing more than 300 people to Kelly Miller Middle School for her State of the Ward address in May. That night, she ran through the numbers: $224 million for development, she had attended 400 community meetings and had answered 10,200 e-mails.

"I think you find that you cannot please everyone, and you can only do your best," Alexander said, then shrugged. "Everyone has their one issue, but I have 10,000 issues."