Phil Mendelson

[jsteele]

Some time ago it occurred to me that there was really only one candidate in the Democratic primary election that I really wanted to see win. I don't have much interest in either mayoral candidate, both candidates for Council Chair leave a lot to be desired, and my ward doesn't have a Council race. While I support Doug Sloan for Delegate, he is a real long-shot against Eleanor Holmes Norton and I really have no strong opinions about either candidate for Shadow Representative. That left the At-Large Council seat for which Phil Mendelson is running for re-election.

I'm a long-time fan of Mendelson. I remember back in 2002 when Marion Barry considered challenging Mendelson for the At-Large seat. Mendelson didn't back down. To the contrary, he campaigned in the heart of Barry territory, prepared to put his record up against Barry's any day. As it happened, Barry dropped out before the election. On the Council, Mendelson has been a tireless supporter of civil rights. This has caused him problems in some quarters in which he is criticized as soft on crime. But, at every level of our society we see crime and security being used to justify the trampling of our civil liberties. I feel a lot better knowing that at least one Council Member is watching out for us in this regard. Mendelson's support for civil rights has made him a strong ally of the LGBT community.

Mendelson is probably the most independent-minded member of the Council. When Adrian Fenty sought to takeover the DC public school system, he found a strong ally in Chairman Vincent Gray. The majority of Council Members had strong ties to one or the other of those figures. Only Republican Carol Schwartz and Phil Mendelson voted against the takeover. Regardless of your position on this particular issue, you have to admire Mendelson's independence and commitment to his principles. The last thing DC needs is a rubber-stamp Council, regardless of who sits in the Mayor's office.

Recently, the Greater Greater Washington blog endorsed Mendelson saying: "Mr. Mendelson is a smart, capable, and honest councilmember who's been strong on the environment and a staunch defender of civil liberties and champion of same-sex marriage." Mendelson has also been endorsed by the DC Chamber of Commerce, and the Current Newspapers, among others.

Guess who hasn't endorsed Mendelson? The Washington Post. The Post editors refused to take any position on the At-Large race. The Post is resolutely pro-Fenty and apparently Mendelson has not toed the Fenty line sufficiently. This should be a source of pride for Mendelson.

I was disappointed when Clark Ray announced his candidacy for the At-Large seat. A lot of good things can be said about Ray and I'd love to support him for the Council. But, not at the cost of losing Mendelson. Regardless, Ray has failed to gain traction and has not become a strong rival. If Kwame Brown wins the Council Chair race and Ray runs for Brown's At-Large seat, I will likely support him.

The strongest challenger to Mendelson is Michael D. Brown who is currently a Shadow Senator. The only time I've ever previously heard of Brown is when he was mentioned in the context of the numerous Michael Browns who inhabit Washington. I am not aware of a single accomplishment of his. He has no website. I have not seen him at forums (he has attended some, but not the same ones I've been at). I couldn't tell you one position that he holds on any issue. He has been banking on one thing -- confusion with Michael A. Brown, a current At-Large member of the Council. He may well be a talented individual with a lot of strengths. If so, he needs to campaign on that basis rather than name confusion.

I will be voting for Phil Mendelson in the upcoming Democratic primary. I hope others will consider doing so as well.

[Anonymous]

I like Phil Mendelson as well and will be voting for him also. Phil is behind in the polls, likely due to the confusion about the Michael Browns.

[Anonymous]

I like Phil Mendelson too, and it would be a shame if he lost because of the name confusion.

I really dislike Jim Graham. I think he's been awful for metro, and he was very unresponsive as a council member.

[jsteele]

I could have saved myself a lot of typing if I had seen this first:

http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/editorial-post-wrong-again-dc-politics

"If anybody in a competitive race deserves the endorsement of The Washington Post, it is Phil Mendelson. He is a full-time, serious (sometimes too serious) Councilmember who has used his oversight powers to put a lid on out-of-control Fire Department overtime, defend civil liberties against aggressive check-points and other illegal tactics of the Metropolitan Police Department, and opposed the secrecy that has become a hallmark of the Fenty administration.

"Moreover, in a twelve-year council career, and before that as a Council aide and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, there has never been even a hint of scandal or unsavory behavior on his part, unlike others The Post endorsed."

[Anonymous]

For folks considering whether to vote Mendo, Ray, or one of the Michael Brown collective, this article about Mendelson's critical work in making DC a less safe city is required reading :

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/8002.html

Just to reiterate: If confusion over Michael D. Brown will somehow pry Mendelson out of his seat, more power to him. I know nothing about Brown either, but unless he's actually one of The Joker's henchmen, he can't possibly be more of a staunch advocate for violent criminals than Mendelson has been.

[Anonymous]

Phil Mendelson is honest and independent, but he has been extremely soft on crime and done much to frustrate efforts to reduce the terrible crime in our city that afflicts the poorest most of all.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:For folks considering whether to vote Mendo, Ray, or one of the Michael Brown collective, this article about Mendelson's critical work in making DC a less safe city is required reading :

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/8002.html

Just to reiterate: If confusion over Michael D. Brown will somehow pry Mendelson out of his seat, more power to him. I know nothing about Brown either, but unless he's actually one of The Joker's henchmen, he can't possibly be more of a staunch advocate for violent criminals than Mendelson has been.

It is notable that Mendelson has been endorsed by DC's Fraternal Order of Police. In their endorsement they said, "Phil Mendelson is a committed and engaged public servant. His reelection will assure continuity of a resolute and independent voice on the Council of the District of Columbia." Are you suggesting that the FOP would endorse "a staunch advocate for violent criminals"?

Moreover, according to the Fenty campaign, violent crime is down. That is one of Fenty's major campaign talking points. How can that be if Phil Mendelson is personally handing out automatic weapons to gang members?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:Moreover, according to the Fenty campaign, violent crime is down. That is one of Fenty's major campaign talking points. How can that be if Phil Mendelson is personally handing out automatic weapons to gang members?

Violent crime is down across the country, so that's a bit of a red herring--those numbers have gone down despite the current composition of the council. Personally, I think we'd see a lot more support for things like youth services, public housing, &tc... if violent criminals weren't given a light tap on the wrist when they're caught. It undermines public support in the system at large. In any case, that Washingtonian article was well-researched and jibes with what I've heard over and over again from judges and individual police officers. The FOP is a professional organization, and has it's own agenda--which at this point seems to mostly involve trying to get rid of Cathy Lanier.

[Anonymous]

Phil Mendolson is a total research nerd, as far as I can tell. I figure if he supports something he has explored it in every way possible and thought about it carefully. We really need someone like him on council to balance out the big talkers. Vote Phil!

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
Violent crime is down across the country, so that's a bit of a red herring--those numbers have gone down despite the current composition of the council.

So, you are saying that Fenty and Lanier don't deserve credit for the drop in crime? I'm sure the Fenty campaign will be happy to hear that. I read the article and it made it pretty clear that the Courts are not doing a good job with the laws that are on the books. What makes you think they would do better with new laws?

I noticed that when Fenty was in the Council, the crime problem was the fault of the Chief of Police. When Fenty became mayor and fired that Chief, the crime problem became the fault of the Council. I think all of us know that crime is a complex issue and cannot be blamed on a single individual.

Morever, if Mendelson loses, who do you think will take over his committee? Barry is currently without a chairmanship. How would you like him instead of Mendelson? It may seem like a good idea to elect a complete unknown. But you know what they say about the devil you know compared to the devil you don't.

[Anonymous]

Just to clarify some of Mendelson's postions on violent crime (from the above article):

In giving Mendelson its “lukewarm” endorsement in the last election, the Washington Post called his current term “disappointing” and said his chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee was “timid” and “indecisive.”

When Mendelson finally moved the crime bill, some penalties were strengthened, but he had stripped out most of the mandatory-minimum-sentencing clauses Williams had proposed. Mendelson ignored pleas from police and prosecutors to stiffen the penalties. The effectiveness of mandatory-minimum sentences, directing judges to sentence criminals to specific jail terms, is a matter of debate. But they have been shown to lower crime in cities such as Portland, which has experienced a drop in violent crime since Oregon passed minimum-sentencing laws in 1995.

“If a drug dealer knew he would face a five-year minimum sentence if he was caught carrying a gun,” says a veteran federal prosecutor in DC, “I guarantee you gun crime would drop dramatically.”

Says Mendelson: “I don’t believe minimum-sentencing laws are effective.”

Mendelson also doesn’t believe in holding violent offenders while they are awaiting trial. Mayor Williams had proposed changes in the law that would make it easier for judges to hold suspects. Mendelson stripped the provisions from the bill.

In a January 10 hearing, police-union representative Delroy Burton testified that beefing up detainment rules would “help keep violent offenders off the street.”

Mendelson said that would never happen: “We have rules that favor release.”

When I asked Mendelson what he would do to keep defendants arrested for gun possession from returning to the street, he said, “I don’t believe that’s happening. That’s very anecdotal.”

Prosecutors and police disagree, saying that hundreds of people arrested for gun possession are sent right back out.

Mendelson also made it harder for prosecutors to charge a defendant as a gang member. They had to show that a defendant had three close contacts in a gang to prove membership; Mendelson changed it to five.

“There’s soft on crime, there’s softer on crime, then there’s Phil Mendelson,” says police-union head Kris Baumann.
...

Mendelson says DC’s gun laws are strong enough—with the exception of what’s known as the “operability” ruling. Thanks to a 1974 ruling by the DC Court of Appeals, the District is the nation’s only jurisdiction where police have to prove that a gun works before a suspect can be held pending trial.
...

Everyone involved in fighting gun crime agrees that forcing police to prove a gun works can gum up the enforcement system. Removing the requirement will take a change in the law through Phil Mendelson’s committee.

“We have a bill pending,” Mendelson says. No hearings have been held.

It goes on and on and on... I'm not a law-and-order extremist by any stretch, but I do think that

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Violent crime is down across the country, so that's a bit of a red herring--those numbers have gone down despite the current composition of the council.

So, you are saying that Fenty and Lanier don't deserve credit for the drop in crime? I'm sure the Fenty campaign will be happy to hear that. I read the article and it made it pretty clear that the Courts are not doing a good job with the laws that are on the books. What makes you think they would do better with new laws?

I believe the subtitle of the article was "We won’t get guns off the streets until politicians, judges, and law-enforcement officials get serious about stopping the mayhem." It's clear that there's plenty of blame to go around.

Morever, if Mendelson loses, who do you think will take over his committee? Barry is currently without a chairmanship. How would you like him instead of Mendelson? It may seem like a good idea to elect a complete unknown. But you know what they say about the devil you know compared to the devil you don't.

Strange, that was my argument in favor of reelcting Fenty. This seems to be a "Who knows? Let's see what happens" election cycle anyway. Besides, if Barry gets the committee--which is vanishingly unlikely--it would be even less likely to be long-term.

[jsteele]

Today the Georgetown Dish made an impassioned please for Michael D. Brown to drop out of the At-Large Council race and endorse Phil Mendelson:

http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/editorial-step-down-michael-brown

The Dish's argument is that by not campaigning seriously and banking solely on name confusion, Michael D. Brown is making a mockery of the election. A victory in such circumstances would contribute to making the District a "perennial butt of jokes".

Also, Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells has come out strongly in favor of Mendelson and has been working to alleviate some of the name confusion. He has had a number of tweets on his Twitter feed, in which he had dubbed Michael D. Brown "White Mike":

"If white Mike Brown is elected,is he prepared to go thru the recall process sure to follow? Not an attractive scenario 4 anyone"

"Decided to asst Mendelson today. White Mike trying to win by deception is just wrong."

[jsteele]

An article written by Harry Jaffe is quoted extensively above to support voting against Phil Mendelson. Today, however, that very same Harry Jaffe expresses his support for the re-eleciton of Mendelson:

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Doggett-comes-back-to-sort-out-D_C__s-black_-white_-Brown-problem-758799-102304289.html

"Phil Mendelson is a dedicated, veteran member of the city council. Though I have criticized him relentlessly on positions he has taken -- or not -- as chairman of the judiciary committee, I have never doubted his intelligence or his commitment to making D.C. a better place to live."

"Phil Mendelson is no hero, but the city sure would be better off with him than with the shadow guy.."