Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Except that Barry was roundly criticized for saying those things.

Relax - Marion is on his last leg and barely holding a seat on the DC Council.
Move along people there's nothing to see here.

Yes - being on your last leg excuses hatred and bigotry. Just like the remaining camp guards, right?

Anonymous wrote:Except that Barry was roundly criticized for saying those things.

Relax - Marion is on his last leg and barely holding a seat on the DC Council.
Move along people there's nothing to see here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:.

. . .And, as we've seen from the complete lack of response to Marion Barry's repeated violations of D.C. 's hate speech laws, no one will speak out about the level of homophobia in many parts of DC - particularly Ward 8 where you can say racist things like "dirty Asians" or insult immigrants.

Except that Barry was roundly criticized for saying those things. And what do you mean, DC's hate speech laws? DC doesn't have a friggin' hate speech law.

Yes, we do have laws against those crimes on our books. Barry violated them, and should have been prosecuted, not "criticized." Do you really think the answer to blatant bigotry and racism - especially by one of our leaders is simply a little criticism??! This is right from our official web page:

What Is a Hate Crime?
A hate crime is a crime that is committed against a person because of prejudice or bias. Victims of hate crimes are singled out simply because of their perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibility, physical handicap, matriculation, or political affiliation.

Examples of hate crimes include:

•Physical attack
•Destruction of property
•Cross burnings
•Arson
•Vandalism
•Telephone harassment
•Painting swastikas and other hate symbols
•Use of racial slurs
•Cemetery desecration
•Verbal abuse
•Firebombing of residences, businesses, and chu
Hate Crimes Are Against the Law
In 1989, the District of Columbia enacted a law to address the problem of hate crimes committed in DC. The law, entitled "The Bias-Related Crime Act of 1989" (DC Code §§ 22-4001 to 22-4004), provides for increased penalties whenever a crime is motivated by bias or hate.

The law also mandates that police in the District of Columbia collect data on bias-related acts and that the Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia publish an annual report regarding the number and type of bias-related acts reported in the District.

Federal law (The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990) also requires the Metropolitan Police Department to report data on hate crimes to federal authorities annually.

Why Hate Crimes Should Be Reported
A person who commits a hate crime cannot be brought to justice and held accountable for his or her acts if the crime is not reported. In addition, collecting accurate data on the number of hate crimes is one of the only ways in which police, prosecutors, elected officials, and community organizations can determine the extent of the problem of hate crimes in the District of Columbia.

Why Hate Crimes Must Be Stopped
Unlike other crimes that target individuals, bias-related acts have a tremendous effect on an entire community. When one person is targeted because of his or her race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or other characteristic, others in the community who were not the direct targets of the hate crime may also feel at risk. Tensions between different communities can also arise as a result of a hate crime.

I cannot believe anyone thinks that Gray didn't have any inkling that shady things were occurring during the last campaign -- "plausible deniability" is most likely -- and I am so disgusted by the corrupt political machine in this town. So, yeah, maybe it would be good to not have a black mayor just to make sure that the political machine has to change it's stripes.

Thank you, 17:39. That was very helpful, and I see exactly where you are coming from. I think I am in agreement with you in many ways about the education issues, and I hadn't really given the potential backlash from getting rid of Kaya, who I don't think is helping anyone, enough thought. But, now that I am thinking about it, it seems like keeping her was politically savvy as a lot of people still believe that Rhee was good in ways other than publicizing that there may be hope for the system. I have a lot of thinking, and listening, to do before a general election if this race come to be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because DC is Chocolate City.

Used to be you couldn't get elected without the black vote. Not sure if that has changed, but DC took a lot of pride in being chocolate city, and a lot of people still hold onto that identity. I very much doubt Gray will be the last black mayor. Actually, I think he stands a good chance of being re-elected. We're a long way from Marion Barry, but he hasn't screwed up significantly enough to not be re-elected, especially with a ton of people running against him.

Agree with this. If it's Gray vs Catania, my money is on Gray and I will most likely be voting for him as well. (I'm white FWIW)

Why? I'm actually legitimately curious. I am probably voting gray or abstaining from the primary (which surprises me!), and I'm thinking Catania in the general, but I would love to hear why you prefer Gray.

Are you asking he'd this question because she is white? Would you ask this same question if she had not identified herself as white?

I would ask either way. I am curious. Given the demographics of the city, however, my assumption is that the pp is in a similar socio-economic position as am I. (I would never assume the inverse as the demographics of non-whites in the city are much more diverse). Given that, I am especially curious, but I would be either way because I have not yet heard very much head to head comparison on this issue and I have thus far come to my tentative decision only through what I have personally seen and I would like to hear more perspectives.

Just getting back to this thread. I'm the person who said I'd probably vote for Gray. That's because he's done a decent job of running the city and I really liked him when he was Council Chair (and I hadn't voted for him for Council Chair). I'm not thrilled with Kaya Henderson but I don't think he had any choice but to keep her, given how Michelle Rhee's supporters acted like he was the anti-Christ. He clearly didn't want to get into a big power struggle over the school system.

It is possible that when I look at the issues head-to-head (if Catania and Gray do go head-to-head), I would vote for Catania. I've liked him on some things. But he really butts heads with people which is counterproductive - and that could be especially toxic as a white mayor of a city that's 50% African-American. I'm also gunshy about huge new educational ventures after the Fenty debacle. Does Catania really understand how to work with other people to get buy-in on his ambitious educational plans? I'm not convinced he does. I'm still feeling exhausted from Fenty's overreach. I'm not up for anyone to come in with guns blazing for change if all they're going to do is piss off lots of people. There's something to be said for tact.

Then again if proof emerges before the election that Gray did know what was going on with his campaign, that would sour me on him. And I admit that even if he didn't know it doesn't reflect well on him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am white and vigorously support Grey. Here is why:

- Kaya Henderson - kept Rhee methods but better (still needs improvement though)
-More money to affordable housing
-City in good fiscal shape (much better than what Fenty left)
-Streetcar is coming
-bkeshare expanded
-Sustainable DC

I could go on, but the "I am not him" won't do it in this election and none of the candidates provide an alternative to the status quo.

Catania as a gay white male won't be electable in November either.

Catania can't run a shadow campaign or rig the vote the way someone like ShadyGrey did. Grey is cut from the same cloth as his two former council members now serving prison terms.

And, as we've seen from the complete lack of response to Marion Barry's repeated violations of D.C. 's hate speech laws, no one will speak out about the level of homophobia in many parts of DC - particularly Ward 8 where you can say racist things like "dirty Asians" or insult immigrants.

Except that Barry was roundly criticized for saying those things. And what do you mean, DC's hate speech laws? DC doesn't have a friggin' hate speech law.

Can Anthony Williams come back? His biggest screwup was not making the primary ballot.

Anonymous wrote:why does the DC mayor need to be black?

Because of Affirmative Action no doubt.

Anonymous wrote:PG is now "Chocolate City."

yep and in 30 years DC will be "crème brulee city"

a thin layer of the 'right brown' with lots of cream and a bit of yellow.

Would Fenty come back? He can represent both black and white.

I'm not sure who will get my vote in either the primary or the general. I'm pretty sure I won't vote for Faith (Statehood/Green) in November, but of the six Dems and Catania, I think it's quite possible any of them could do a reasonable job, although I'm sure there will be issues each of them would disappoint me on. By 4/1 and 11/4, however, I hope I manage to find someone I strongly favor.

In some elections there is a candidate whose election would severely disappoint me. Fortunately, in this election, none of the candidates give me that feeling (aside from the aforementioned Faith, whom I can't take seriously).

But as to the specific question of this thread, I think what DC really needs is to reach the point where such a question will be considered totally out of date. In that connection, although I am an older white voter, I truly do not think race plays a role in my feelings about any of these candidates, even though I can't deny it may affect their electability.

22:02

So are you saying the administration of the city has been lacking? Is there anything we can point to in the current city administration that has been fraught with waste, fraud, abuse or anything illegal?

I am not saying the shadow campaign was acceptable, but on the other hand, don't we have a presumption of innocence in this country?

If Grey gets indicted, then sure, we can look to the other choices, but until then, if you look at the actual experience of leading the city as opposed to what the challengers offer, it is really lacking.

Anonymous wrote:Focus on the politics not the ethnicity

when it comes to the old boys club, politics does not count that much

Anonymous wrote:I am white and vigorously support Grey. Here is why:

- Kaya Henderson - kept Rhee methods but better (still needs improvement though)
-More money to affordable housing
-City in good fiscal shape (much better than what Fenty left)
-Streetcar is coming
-bkeshare expanded
-Sustainable DC

I could go on, but the "I am not him" won't do it in this election and none of the candidates provide an alternative to the status quo.

Catania as a gay white male won't be electable in November either.

Catania can't run a shadow campaign or rig the vote the way someone like ShadyGrey did. Grey is cut from the same cloth as his two former council members now serving prison terms.

And, as we've seen from the complete lack of response to Marion Barry's repeated violations of D.C. 's hate speech laws, no one will speak out about the level of homophobia in many parts of DC - particularly Ward 8 where you can say racist things like "dirty Asians" or insult immigrants.