WTOP political commentator Mark Plotkin was online Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. ET to Fenty and the D.C. council fighting to control Washington's schools, whether Del. Marshall is still running against U.S. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest in Maryland, and what difference the Beltway Primary possibly can make.

The transcript follows.

Archive: Mark Plotkin discussion transcripts

Plotkin joined WTOP after 10 years as a political analyst for WAMU radio. He has been active in D.C. and national politics since attending George Washington University in the late '60s.

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Logan Circle, D.C.: What do you think about the primary challengers to Jack Evans? Why the eagerness to oppose such an effective council member?

Mark Plotkin: Jack Evans is the most senior member of the council and he always has raised a substantial amount of money to scare off challengers, and his only negative is the situation when a incumbent stays too long and the voters suffer incumbent fatigue. No incumbent ever should take a challenger for granted, even though the challenger starts with usually very little name recognition and even less in money.

Of course the prominent incumbents who stayed too long that immediately come to mind are Charlene Drew Jarvis who as you know got trounced by the present mayor, Adrian Fenty; going further back, Kathy Patterson beat Jim Nathanson and even further back, H.R. Crawford was beaten by Kevin Chavous -- and then Chavous after serving a considerable number of terms was beaten by Vince Gray, who is now the chairman of the council.

The challengers to Evans have to make a strong case for change. I would be interested in who you've heard from and what you think of the possible field. But right now, Evans sure is by virtue of name recognition, and finances, the decisive favorite.

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Washington: Mark, in today's Post, Virginia GOP Chairman Hager made a comment about how the Democrats shouldn't rub in the fact too much about putting Northern Virginia legislators along with minorities in committee chairmanships. Am I wrong, or is he being just a little bit racist here? I'm trying to figure out what that comment means.

washingtonpost.com: Tensions Could Hurt Majority in Virginia Senate (Post, Dec. 11)

Mark Plotkin: I'm puzzled by that remark as well. I plead guilty to missing that article, maybe you can elaborate for me on its hidden meaning but the first father-in-law who just happens to be the Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party has for sure, if your account is right, made a puzzling remark to say the least. Please elaborate your own view on this subject. I would be interested in hearing it. Hager, you know, was Lieutenant Governor in a Republican administration and worked for Mark Warner for a short time in homeland security and now has reverted back to his Republican origins. His party is surely struggling with having lost just recently the Republican-controlled Senate and losing seats in the house and more importantly, losing the U.S. Senate seat of George Allen, and the last two governorships.

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Washington: Mr. Plotkin, how can we believe that Mayor Fenty supports D.C. democracy and statehood when he seems to have so little respect for the little democracy the District has now -- such as the council, the now-gone partially elected school board, feedback from the ANCs and the public?

Mark Plotkin: His record on statehood is really quite good. He always mentions the word while Tony Williams, his predecessor, conveniently omitted it like the plague. As for voting representation in the last battle on Capital Hill, he visited and called every senator who was a possible vote for the District. In addition, he met with the House leadership and as you know the bill providing one representative actually passed in the house. As for his role with the ANCs, you'll have to inform me of how he has treated them. I'm serious, please write back and let me know. In terms of the council, there is always going to be an internal tension between these two equal branches of government. I think there is a tension between Vince Gray and Mayor Fenty. But that's always natural. The mayor needs to develop close personal relations with the other councilmembers. He did serve with them for six years prior to being mayor and some friendships and loyalties and even affection should have come about. As an institution, the council wants to be treated, as I said before, as a coequal branch of government -- and when they see that institution disregarded or disrespected, they are going to blast the mayor. The school closings is a case in point of the anger that occurred.

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Fairfax, Va.: The article by Tim Craig raises some interesting points about how Democrats will handle their newfound majority status. So, put your money down, Mark -- are they going to screw this up?

Mark Plotkin: The Democrats in the Senate have just a slight majority and that makes their control of that body precarious and there is a division even among suburban and exurban and rural Democrats for power and control. In the House, the Republicans still have a majority even though they have lost three seats, and I'm sure that majority lead by Speaker Howell is going to assert itself.

On Virginia politics, I'm soliciting, or suggesting (a kinder phrase), an issue that I forgot to bring up with Speaker Howell last Friday on the Politics Program on WTOP Radio (103.5 FM), on Virginia governors serving more then one term. This issue is one that always has been of interest to me and I would like to hear your views. It seems to me that it makes the governor a lame duck immediately upon taking office. Now, there is an example of Mills Godwin skipping a term and also changing parties and coming back and running for governor. As you know, Virginia is the only state in the union that has a ban on governors succeeding themselves. Other governors are limited to two terms. I'm against all term limits. It seems to me that the voters should make that determination. Big states such as New York and Illinois don't have term limits and in the case of New York, the voters had had enough of Mario Cuomo and threw him out for a rather obscure candidate, George Pataki. I'd like to hear your views on this. I have some reasons why this hasn't happened but I wonder what you think.

Haven't had any Maryland questions. Sure would welcome those. How do you think O'Malley is doing, and what about the leadership in the House with Mike Busch and Mike Miller in the Senate -- and of course, the issue of slots. The politicians I have interviews on the Politics Program have not been that optimistic that the referendum will pass. Then what happens? Also, Is Wayne Gilchrest in trouble with now two primary challenges? And finally, a Virginia question. Rob Wittman is expected to win the special election today in Virginia's first congressional district. Any estimates of turnout and how well the Democrat will do? There's also a special election in Ohio today for the seat of Paul Gilmour, who passed away, and the Democrats think they have a shot there. That's a heavily Republican district. If the Democrats should win there, it would mean something significant. But I'm most interested in the percentages that both Democrats will do in each of these districts and whether they will surpass the low estimates. Republicans are worried that in the suburbs, which are changing racially and demographically, are a danger area for them in 2008. To those who live in these areas, I'd like your point of view. Is this true?

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Washington: If the mayor is in fact ignoring ANCs, good for him. The ANC system should be abolished and the busybodies who sit on them should move to a condominium or homeowners association and run for a spot on the board. That's pretty much the type of person who sits on an ANC anyway -- someone who loves regulating and telling other people what to do and what not to do.

Mark Plotkin: I guess I have to disagree with you. I don't think the mayor should ignore the ANCs. This is the purest form of participatory democracy. Each ANC member represents about 2,000 citizens and I must personally disclose, I was an ANC commissioner and for a short time even chaired ANC 3B. The people who run for this nonpaying job, I think most of the time, have the city's best interest at heart. The meetings can be endless, boring, mundane and hardly enjoyable, so in some ways, the people who participate are political masochists. This system was set up by former congressman and then-mayor of Minneapolis Don Fraser, who I believe felt that because Washington was denied a vote in the national legislature and every law the council passes can be overturned by Congress, he felt the citizenry should be given as much power as possible before different zoning boards and other regulatory bodies. They hold meetings where citizens can express their views strongly and the ANC has to take that into account and appear before these powerful bodies and supposedly make the wishes of the citizens known. In fact, their recommendations are supposed to be given (great weight), that's not always the case but that's the hope and the principle. The ANCs also are a springboard for running for a higher office, but there is nothing wrong with that. So as you can see, I'm a champion of the ANCs.

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Arlington, Va.: How can George Washington not even score 40 on Virginia Tech? Is Hobbs going to be fired after this season?

Mark Plotkin: Well, Hobbs is not going to be fired. He did send the team to the NCAAs three straight years but I must say, he has a terrible tendency of giving up on his team when they fall way behind. In terms of the Virginia Tech game, I could only bear to see one half where the offensive prowess was pathetic. Sometimes I don't know if they are running plays or just improvising once they get on the court. Hobbs is a great recruiter. He showed that at Connecticut under Jim Calhoun but I don't think he makes the adjustments and alterations he should when he coaches the team. They run on talent alone with individual performances rather than team chemistry. I also don't see much spacing which other teams seem to utilize and is successful. In summary, if they are not shooting well from the outside, they don't score points and this is evident, far too evident, in the Virginia Tech game.

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Adams Morgan, D.C.: I don't know if this counts as "local politics" enough for discussion during your chat, but the recent sentencing of the Metro bus driver for striking and killing those two women reminded me of another horrible pedestrian accident -- that of the Metro police officer who went around a car that had stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk and hit that very same pedestrian. The last I heard was that it was going to be "investigated" -- and then nothing more.

I'm besieged by all sorts of triumphant hooting on Lanier's part when, miraculously, one of her very expensive and ultimately counterproductive "all hands on deck" weekends goes by without a murder -- but it's rare indeed to hear word one about real traffic safety, which while certainly different than traditional violent crime, still is a matter of public safety that affects everyone coming in and out of the city.

Why no police stings to catch cars zooming through pedestrian-filled crosswalks? Why do I never see tickets on those cars that are parked illegally at the very edge of the street, blocking a driver's view of oncoming vehicular and foot traffic? I'm sorry if these sorts of things sound petty, but the simple truth of it is that I feel like I'm more likely to be killed by a harried driver than I am by a mugger -- and it doesn't seem like Lanier could care less...

washingtonpost.com: D.C. Has Weekend Free of Shootings (Post, Dec. 11)

Mark Plotkin: You point out a very good point in a subject matter that is obviously going to get more attention now. They've started a campaign about pedestrian safety and more aggressive enforcement of drivers who put pedestrians at risk. This has been a much neglected issue but it looks like motorist who are not mindful of pedestrians will get ticketed and enforcement will definitely be greater. Ike Leggett, the Montgomery County Executive, had a big press conference about this last week so the issue is getting a lot more coverage and visibility.

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Reality (Washington): Mark, I don't you will print this since it goes against your pro-D.C. Council attitude, but the D.C. Council is one of the most self-serving institutions ever created in this country. It only cares about maintain its power/ego. Why on earth should an organization this bad for its citizens (not to mention the rest of the country) be given extra power?

Mark Plotkin: I sense a certain snide tone to this question. I don't have a pro-D.C. Council attitude, I just think they should be treated as a coequal branch of government. I think most people's views about the council stem from individual interaction with their own councilmembers, or at-large members. They are paid a healthy salary to respond to your requests and you as a citizen should assert that right. I don't think it only cares about it's power and ego. There are some members on the council who do have an over abundance of that feeling but I think the majority want to do a good job and serve the citizenry. Ward councilmembers are in particular pressured to respond because they are closest to the constituents they serve and they realize that they will be thrown out of office if they lose touch with their neighborhood residence. The most graphic example being the trouncing Charlene Drew Jarvis took from Adrian Fenty who was very young at the time, didn't have as much money, but there was widespread Ward dissatisfaction with Jarvis. Jarvis was viewed as not caring about the Ward and caring about running for mayor. The same can be said to a lesser degree about Kevin Chavous, who was a talented, charismatic, smart, pol who was not really accused of overwhelming ambition (he did run for Mayor once), but rather not being responsive to his Ward.

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Baltimore: The referendum on slots: It may seem silly in a state that derives so much income from the lottery and its profusion of games, but as a lifelong liberal Democrat, I am against slots. I don't think it will do anything but, for the most part, siphon money from the pockets of the middle/lower-middle class. Yes, they are entitled to gamble away their money if they want, but I don't want the state encouraging it. If they want to gamble, let them take a bus trip to Delaware, Atlantic City, N.J., or Charles Town, W.Va.

Mark Plotkin: The argument made for slots was that the states you mentioned were receiving all this slot money and why shouldn't Maryland residence spend their money in their own state rather then going to these other states? Your point about the lottery is a good one because the honest politicians admit that the lottery, which is a form of gambling, just takes in so much money and the state can't afford to lose the proceeds. The slots, which I have read about, are just viewed as a more addictive form of gambling, and that they will harm disproportionately low- and moderate-income people who won't be able to resist this form of gambling. It's interesting that on the Politics Program two weeks ago (on WTOP, 103.5 FM), Kumar Barve and this past week, Speaker Mike Busch, surely gave an indication that the referendum on the ballet in November 2008 might not pass and did not give an answer on to how they are to make up the projected revenues if the referendum doesn't pass. Del. Luiz Simmons thinks that this slots proposal will just open the door to casino gambling and that's really a much greater expansion of the gambling industry taking over Maryland. In fact, he proposed a bill that would ban gaming operators from contributing to state political campaigns.

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Logan Circle, D.C.: Regarding challengers to Jack Evans: Shaw community activist and former Logan Circle ANC member Cary Silverman is running. He was campaigning openly at a meet-and-greet for Adam Clampitt, who's running against Carol Schwartz. Also, Dupont-area activist Rob Halligan has indicated he's running. I don't think either one has a chance against Evans, but I think it's a good chance for them to get their names out there should they run again for something. I'm not sure their natural base is upset enough with Jack about anything to vote against him.

Mark Plotkin: I'm glad you brought up the names of the possible challengers. I've already received an invitation from Cary Silverman and he seems to be running hard. He or someone else always makes for a better race although I've mentioned before, an incumbent loves more than one candidate splitting the opposition. Rob Halligan, I'm glad you mentioned as well because I want all these challengers to get fair play and an opportunity to let the public know they are in the race. As for Clampitt, he's running an early and energetic campaign but it's definitely a tough battle against Schwartz who really is well liked by Democrats and gets votes from Republicans even though she never puts the party affiliation on her literature. Independents out number Republicans almost two to one and they vote in the general election and this general election is in a Presidential year where turnout is higher and so that should be fertile ground for any Schwartz challenger.

Thanks for the questions and comments today and hope we'll get some more Maryland inquiries next time. See you next week, same time, same place.

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