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Kwame Brown or Vincent Orange
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Anonymous
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My mind is not firmly made up on this one. I'm leaning Kwame because Orange used to be my councilmember (Ward 5) and never impressed much. I've met Kwame, he is highly energetic and shows genuine interest in serving multiple constituencies.
Who are you voting for and why? |
jsteele
Site Admin Online
Site Admin Online
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Both candidates leave a lot to be desired, but I'm going with Kwame. Kwame has some personal finance issues, but as a CM he has been pretty good. He is deeply involved in the city and very devoted to his job. His other fault is that you simply can't get him to shut up. He should talk about 80% less. Regardless, he is a really good guy.
Orange, as you suggested, was not a very good Council Member. His 2006 campaign for mayor was one of the most poorly run operations I ever encountered. Rude campaign staff may not be unusual around here, but his were downright hostile. After that campaign, Orange became a lobbyist for PEPCO (VP of Government Affairs). PEPCO seems to be constantly seeking rate increases and the last thing we need is their man at the head of the Council. The Washington Post endorsed Orange, but it is worth noting that the Post is like a one-issue voter. In the Post's case, the single issue is Michelle Rhee. And, much like the NRA or other issue groups, it expects 100% commitment. Brown has kids in a DC charter school and understands the travails of parents facing less than optimal school choices. Like many of those parents, he doesn't meet the Post's standard for blind allegiance to Rhee. |
Anonymous
| I didn't vote at all in that race. I don't like Orange but I just can't bring myself to vote for someone with those kind of financial problems. I got pulled down that road a fair bit by dh and it was just plain embarrassing until we finally pulled ourselves out of it. Sorry, Brown supporters. |
Anonymous
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I voted for Kwame. Although I wish I had fewer doubts about him, I have no doubts that I do not want Orange. If anything comes out that makes it difficult to vote for Kwame in November, I think I could go with Ann Wilcox on Statehood/Green. She sounded pretty reasonable at that forum.
Note: I voted for Vince and then against Vince, for Brown and then against Brown. I'm really even-handed! |
Anonymous
| I'm leaving it blank. |
Anonymous
| Brown |
Anonymous
Big Rhee fan. I'm going to hold my nose and vote for Fenty. But there's no chance I'll vote for Orange. And I know that Tommy Wells (who some think pro-reform) has endorsed K. Brown over Orange. As in "Do not vote for Orange!!". So I think the alignments are somewhat complicated. |
Anonymous
| Dismayed about Brown's finances, but have appreciated that he takes his at-large position seriously as I have seen him at fora in nearly every part of the city. Never been inspired by Orange, though my kids love that there is a "Gray" and an "Orange" in this year's election. |
Anonymous
OP here. Voted today for Kwame Brown. |
Anonymous
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What do people consider the most important role of a council chair at this point? I have no problem with Orange being a lobbyist. (It's a tad hypocritcal to bash someone for being a lobbyist in this town IMHO.) But at least he's an accountant. Kwame is a super nice guy, but I'm not sure if he's got the leadership or gravitas to go up against Fenty if need be.
Haven't voted yet. Any more opinions? |
Anonymous
Kwame HAS gone up against Fenty on some issues. Orange campaigns on the promise that he'll be able to get along with Fenty. On the independence issue, I'll take KB! |
Anonymous
Hmmm... nevermind Fenty. How would they each work with Gray? |