Ward 4 Council Race - can we do better than this?

[Anonymous]

Totally uninformed question: So Renee Bowser is not related to Muriel Bowser? It's an unusual name.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Totally uninformed question: So Renee Bowser is not related to Muriel Bowser? It's an unusual name.

No relation at all. I am sure you are not the only one with this question.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally uninformed question: So Renee Bowser is not related to Muriel Bowser? It's an unusual name.

No relation at all. I am sure you are not the only one with this question.

Thanks for clarifying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Renee Bowser has received the endorsement of DC Women in Politics, along with Natalie Williams in Ward 8. One did not have to be a woman to be a voting member of the audiences at their candidate forums, but only women candidates were invited to take part.

As a practical matter, their endorsement may be overshadowed by the DCBOEE giving first place on the ballot to Brandon Todd and putting Renee in position six, after Pedro Rubio, although I assume Rubio withdrew in time for his name to be dropped from the ballot.

In Ward 8, the Mayor's pick, LaRuby May, will be second on the ballot, behind Greta Fuller. Natalie Williams is in fourth.

The full lists are here:
https://www.dcboee.org/popup.asp?url=/pdf_files/nr_1684.pdf.

Too bad about Pedro Rubio withdrawing. He seems like a truly decent and dedicated person, which would be nice to have in our political leadership. Did he endorse someone else?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
Too bad about Pedro Rubio withdrawing. He seems like a truly decent and dedicated person, which would be nice to have in our political leadership. Did he endorse someone else?

I just had dinner with Pedro. He said that he concluded that the votes just weren't there for him. Campaigning is a huge commitment and he didn't want to make the personal investment given the circumstances. He probably won't endorse any of the others, though he has been approached by multiple campaigns.

One thing that has become apparent is that many in Ward 4 are afraid of upsetting the Mayor. This is a major disadvantage to all candidates other than Todd. I believe I read somewhere that Ward 4 has more government employees than any other ward. True or not, it does seem like almost everyone either works for the government, works for an entity that receives funds from or does business with the government, or has a family member that does. As such, they want to be in the Mayor's good graces. So, we should probably begin welcoming Brandon Todd as our new overlord.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:Special elections normally only attract diehard voters and I assume most of them will be informed. But, if there is any significant uniformed anti-Muriel Bowser vote, I wonder if Renee Bowser will be hurt more than Todd? I feel like Renee is the only opponent to Todd who is getting any traction. But, I almost wish she had a different name.

I would not make that assumption; the rate of adult illiteracy in Ward 4 is 42.4%.

I suppose they might be "informed" by their pastors and employers as to how they are supposed to vote.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:Special elections normally only attract diehard voters and I assume most of them will be informed. But, if there is any significant uniformed anti-Muriel Bowser vote, I wonder if Renee Bowser will be hurt more than Todd? I feel like Renee is the only opponent to Todd who is getting any traction. But, I almost wish she had a different name.

I would not make that assumption; the rate of adult illiteracy in Ward 4 is 42.4%.

I suppose they might be "informed" by their pastors and employers as to how they are supposed to vote.

What is your source for that statistic? That doesn't come close to my experience after living in Ward 4 for over 15 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brandon Todd just seems like more of the same old in DC politics.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2015/02/19/leading-ward-4-candidate-filed-for-bankruptcy-in-2005-over-debts-to-j-crew-nordstrom-others/

Is there any movement around another candidate? I'd be happy to donate to a campaign if it's not an obvious waste of money.

You are basing this decision on his financial problems in college? Wow, people. Would you like to be judged forever for the things you did in your 20's? I wouldn't.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brandon Todd just seems like more of the same old in DC politics.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2015/02/19/leading-ward-4-candidate-filed-for-bankruptcy-in-2005-over-debts-to-j-crew-nordstrom-others/

Is there any movement around another candidate? I'd be happy to donate to a campaign if it's not an obvious waste of money.

You are basing this decision on his financial problems in college? Wow, people. Would you like to be judged forever for the things you did in your 20's? I wouldn't.

In a vacuum, Todd should get a pass because his financial problems are old and he was young. But, in the context of the jailing of two recent Council Members whose personal financial problems preceded their election, Todd's financial problems raise a red flag. There is something to be said about not repeating the same action and expecting different results. I don't know that this is disqualifying, but it should not be ignored either.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:Special elections normally only attract diehard voters and I assume most of them will be informed. But, if there is any significant uniformed anti-Muriel Bowser vote, I wonder if Renee Bowser will be hurt more than Todd? I feel like Renee is the only opponent to Todd who is getting any traction. But, I almost wish she had a different name.

I would not make that assumption; the rate of adult illiteracy in Ward 4 is 42.4%.

I suppose they might be "informed" by their pastors and employers as to how they are supposed to vote.

What is your source for that statistic? That doesn't come close to my experience after living in Ward 4 for over 15 years.

No, it is correct alright:

http://www.american.edu/ocl/volunteer/Community-Service-Center-Maps-and-Stats.cfm

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:Special elections normally only attract diehard voters and I assume most of them will be informed. But, if there is any significant uniformed anti-Muriel Bowser vote, I wonder if Renee Bowser will be hurt more than Todd? I feel like Renee is the only opponent to Todd who is getting any traction. But, I almost wish she had a different name.

I would not make that assumption; the rate of adult illiteracy in Ward 4 is 42.4%.

I suppose they might be "informed" by their pastors and employers as to how they are supposed to vote.

What is your source for that statistic? That doesn't come close to my experience after living in Ward 4 for over 15 years.

No, it is correct alright:

http://www.american.edu/ocl/volunteer/Community-Service-Center-Maps-and-Stats.cfm

Okay, I misread that the first time to say that the "literacy" rate was only 42.4% rather than the "illiteracy" rate. So, maybe I account for part of that number. Regardless, that still seems awful high based on my experience. AU didn't give a source for their number (at least not one that I saw). I tried to find independent numbers and couldn't find anything recent. Perhaps that is an old figure that doesn't account for recent demographic changes? Or, they are counting infants among the illiterate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:Special elections normally only attract diehard voters and I assume most of them will be informed. But, if there is any significant uniformed anti-Muriel Bowser vote, I wonder if Renee Bowser will be hurt more than Todd? I feel like Renee is the only opponent to Todd who is getting any traction. But, I almost wish she had a different name.

I would not make that assumption; the rate of adult illiteracy in Ward 4 is 42.4%.

I suppose they might be "informed" by their pastors and employers as to how they are supposed to vote.

What is your source for that statistic? That doesn't come close to my experience after living in Ward 4 for over 15 years.

No, it is correct alright:

http://www.american.edu/ocl/volunteer/Community-Service-Center-Maps-and-Stats.cfm

As a resident of Ward 4, I find that statistic incredibly hard to believe.

Okay, I misread that the first time to say that the "literacy" rate was only 42.4% rather than the "illiteracy" rate. So, maybe I account for part of that number. Regardless, that still seems awful high based on my experience. AU didn't give a source for their number (at least not one that I saw). I tried to find independent numbers and couldn't find anything recent. Perhaps that is an old figure that doesn't account for recent demographic changes? Or, they are counting infants among the illiterate.

As a resident of Ward 4, I find that statistic incredibly hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

I just did a quick Google. At http://www.washingtonliteracycenter.org/what-we-do/ I found the DC has about 90,000 functionally illiterate adults. At http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/11000.html I found that the 2013 population of DC was about 650,000 with about 17% under 18; that leaves about 550,000 adults. So the 90,000 illiterate ones are less than a sixth of the population. That is totally at odds with the figures cited above. Although I have a reasonable amount of respect for American University, the page cited seemed to be a PR office, and the fact that some staffer pulled together a bunch of numbers does not make me believe something that is totally at odds with what I have seen in decades of living here.

[Anonymous]

Tonight is a good chance for interested constituent to see the candidates. At St John's College High School -- 2607 Military Rd, at the west edge of Rock Creek Park -- there is a forum at 7 pm tonight, preceded by a meet-and-greet at 6:30. Check http://www.ward4candidatesinfo.com/ for other events and lots more information about the race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tonight is a good chance for interested constituent to see the candidates. At St John's College High School -- 2607 Military Rd, at the west edge of Rock Creek Park -- there is a forum at 7 pm tonight, preceded by a meet-and-greet at 6:30. Check http://www.ward4candidatesinfo.com/ for other events and lots more information about the race.

How was it? I wanted to go, but had a prior engagement.