jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She kicks him to the curb publicly, or we all get out the word that DC next mayor can't be trusted on her stance on support of gay marriage.

I agree that she should disassociate herself from him, but one clarification: I believe he is only one of several people listed as hosts for a fundraiser, rather than actually being her chief fundraiser.

From the Blade article:

Robert “Bob” King, a Ward 5 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, is listed as one of more than 100 people serving on the host committee for a May 2 “kickoff celebration and fundraiser” for Bowser’s bid to win the Democratic nomination for mayor next year.

[My boldface]

To be more specific:
Moussa A. Aquil
Idriys Abdullah
Brandon Adams
DeAngelo Adams
Lea Adams Ashby
Johnny Allem
Honorable Kamili Anderson
Shanele Anthony
John Arbuckle
Larry Arrington
Wallace Ashby
Ronald Austin
Nelson Ayala
Caryn Bailey
Dr. Fostenia Baker
George Banks
Kristen Barden
Sabra H. Barrett
Deyanira Barrios-Brown
Maria Barry
Dr. Shari Barton
Vinoda Basnayake
Kimberly Basset
Allen and Martha Beach
Ashby & Susan Beal
Buwa Binite
Kevin and Dorothy Blackwell
Ronald P. Bland
Joe & Joan Bowser
Mark Bowser
Marvin Bowser
Alan Bowser
David Boyd
Alison Brooks
Ahwaneeda Brown
Max Brown
Roger & Jourdinia Brown
Brandy Butler
Rev. Keith Byrd
Monica Byrd
Ella C. Pete
Andre Carley
Vera Carley
Aaron Carr
Deborah Carter
John and Patricia Cauley
Gary Cha
Olivia A. Chase
J.R. Clark
LaTonya Clark
Natalie M. Cofield
Renee McCoy
Eleanor Compton
Ian Conyers
Maria Corrales
Shirley Cooper Terrace
Mel Craig
Theresa Crawford
John Cross
Rev. Kendrick Curry
Karen D. Todd
Crystal Davis
Janice Davis
Beatrice Davis-Williams
Hasim Dawkins
Ben Diamond
Barry Dindyal
Leonardo Dorsett
Tony Dugger
Chris Dyer
Donna Ellis
Joan Ellis-Tillman
Kathy English-Holt
Mehmet Ergene
Evon Ervin
Jan Falls
Justin Faust
Rebecca Fishman
Rodney Foxworth
Cynthia Frederick
Wendy Gadson
Walter Garcia
Juan-Jose Garza
Angie Gates
Antonio Genzano
Tony and Alice Giancola
Sandra Gilbert
Sydney Glass
Roger Glass
Sean Glover
Jacquie Glover
Dorothy and Rick Goings
Donny Gonzalez
Robert Goodrich
Stephen Gorman
Sean Gough
Sam and Betty Gough
Fred Grant
Tiffani Greenidge
Lenya Gregory-Perkins
Everett Hamilton
Carolyn Hamilton
Barbara Hansberry
Lamont Harrell
Rudolph Harris
Ethan Hase
Hashim Hassan
Channing Hawkins
Tori Hawkins
Pauline Hazel
Audrey Hendricks
Carolivia Herron
Charon Hines
Adam Hoey
Shirlee Hoffman
Paige Hoffman
Byron Holmes
Kasmin Holt
Chico Horton
Dr. Safiya Hoskins
Leanord Howard
Espanola Hughes
Dr. Mary Ivey
Laurice Jackson
Shayla Jackson
Tania Jackson
Kenny James
David & Letitia Janifer
David Jannarone
Eric Jenkins
Bill Jonas
Mark Jones
Alvanette Jones
Eric Jones
Bob King
Ashanthi Kiridena
Gloria Kirk
Bruce Klores
Kristal Knight
Ethan Landis
Mike Larson
Rita Lassiter
Donice Leak
Garret Lee
Veronica Lee
Tonyua Lee
Michele Leftwich
CJ Lewis
Renee Lewis
Anne and Tom Lindenfeld
Estell Lloyd
Jessie Lofton
Bonnie Loper
Joshua Lopez
Olympia Lopez
Eve Lotter
Jerel Lucas
Barbara Lyles
Terry Lynch
Brian Mack
Eric Magwood
Jackie Manning
Billy Martin
Lawrence Martin
LaRuby May
Cynthia McDuffie
Jack McKay
Pamela McKee
John Mclarty
Charles McNeil
David Merriweather
Princess Mhoon Cooper
John and Dorothy Milligan
Mary and Edward Monroe
Marc Morgan
Samantha Nolan
Liz Nolan
Lizzy O’Hara-Lazo
Michael Omman
Jose Ortiz
Jerome Paige
Emily Palmer
Tara Panell
Shirley Pittman
Evanna Powell
Gregory Pressey
Brennan Proctor
Rev. Wayne Quick
Dr. Marie Quick
James Rayford
Roger Reddick
Chip Richardson
Lester and Shirley Richardson
Will Ridley
Yasmin Rmero-Latin
John Roane, Jr.
Brandey Rodgers
Mark Rolyn
Yasmin Romere Costillo
Erin Rosebar
Angel Rucker
Ayris Scales
Stephanie Scott
Stacie Scott
Johnnie Scott-Rice
Paul Schwartz
Trevor Selmon
Naomi Shelton
Justin Shields
Kelly and Tim Shuy
Nancy Smith
Steve Smith
Loretta Newmann and Daniel Smith
Lee Smith
Ben and Lori Soto
Randall Speck
Darice Stevens
LeJuan Strickland
Joan Thomas
Dr. Wesley Thompson
Mary Helen Thompson
Tina Thompson
Kemi Tignor
Kim Tignor
Christopher Todd
Gloria Todd
Shawn Townsend
Rick Toye
Hope Tucker Stewart
Chris Turner
Jason Turner
Barbara Tyler
John W. Rice
Joseph Walker
Timothy Walker
Jason Washington
Diana Waters
Thomas Waters
Tamara Watkins
Barbara White
Honorable Trayon White
Tim White
Keith White
Lesylle White
Sean Wieland
Daryll Wiggins
C. Brian Williams
Kezia Williams
Chad Williams
Nicole Williams
David I. Wilson
Michael Wilson
James and Rondolyn Wilson
Derrick Woody
Veronica Wright
Sabra N. Witcher
Joseph and Gloria Younger
Yinusa Yusuff
Michael Zeldin
Jon Zeitler

Anonymous wrote:She kicks him to the curb publicly, or we all get out the word that DC next mayor can't be trusted on her stance on support of gay marriage.

I agree that she should disassociate herself from him, but one clarification: I believe he is only one of several people listed as hosts for a fundraiser, rather than actually being her chief fundraiser.

takoma wrote:The campaign finance issue is not a strong one for her; perhaps an unavoidable problem for one with such prowess at fundraising. But on the issue of King, DC has a lot of older voters, especially those who are religious, who are very uncomfortable with gay marriage. She can't just blow them off any more than she can blow off the gay community.

As the article pointed out, she is openly supportive of gay rights, including marriage. As one who is also strongly in favor of gay rights, I think we should accept that she wants their support even though she disagrees with them on this issue.

I agree with Jeff. Bowser is not mearly " hearing this arch conservative's concerns" he is chief on her fund raising committee. That speaks volumes. Yes, older and religious AA tend to be very homophobic . It is riddled with denial when it comes to homosexuality. ITS ONE OF THESE REASONS WE HAVE SUCH A HIGH AIDS RATE INTHE AA COMMUNITY IN DC.

The LAST thing we need is a mayor who cottons to that, and according to the article her main fund raiser is :


"A political consultant who was paid by an anti-gay group to lead the effort to place D.C.’s same-sex marriage law on the ballot in a voter referendum in 2010 is serving on a fundraising committee for D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser’s campaign for mayor."


She kicks him to the curb publicly, or we all get out the word that DC next mayor can't be trusted on her stance on support of gay marriage.

I agree that Bowser has been good on gay rights. However, I think it is possible to appeal to the city's seniors without accepting very visible support from an prominent anti-gay marriage activist.

But, I added the campaign finance stuff that wasn't in the article because I agree with you that it is even more problematic. Isn't using money from undisclosed donors to bus voters to the polls on behalf of a specific candidate who doesn't report the contribution the very definition of a shadow campaign (or at least shadow campaign activity)? If Gray runs and Bowser plans to attack him on the basis of the shadow campaign that helped get him elected, she is setting herself up for charges of hypocrisy.

The campaign finance issue is not a strong one for her; perhaps an unavoidable problem for one with such prowess at fundraising. But on the issue of King, DC has a lot of older voters, especially those who are religious, who are very uncomfortable with gay marriage. She can't just blow them off any more than she can blow off the gay community.

As the article pointed out, she is openly supportive of gay rights, including marriage. As one who is also strongly in favor of gay rights, I think we should accept that she wants their support even though she disagrees with them on this issue.

DC politics can be tough. Muriel Bowser's young mayoral campaign is facing its first controversy:

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/04/24/anti-gay-consultant-working-for-bowser-mayoral-campaign/

"A political consultant who was paid by an anti-gay group to lead the effort to place D.C.’s same-sex marriage law on the ballot in a voter referendum in 2010 is serving on a fundraising committee for D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser’s campaign for mayor."

This controversy involves Bob King, a Ward 5 ANC. According to the article:

"Records from the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance show that the National Organization for Marriage paid King $60,900 to, among other things, distribute fliers during the 2010 City Council election to urge voters to vote against Council members up for re-election who voted for the marriage equality law."

Bob King is also known for organizing bus-loads of seniors to go to voting centers. The seniors get a free meal, are given campaign literature for King's preferred candidates, and are then taken to vote. King has refused to disclose the donors who pay for the buses and his preferred candidates don't report anything to do with this on their campaign finance reports. So, basically, this is an unreported and undisclosed campaign expenditure. Seems like a strange guy for Bowser -- who wrote Council's ethics bill and mysteriously didn't include anything about campaign finance reform, to associate with.