Washington Blade - September 17, 2004
Lou Chibbaro Jr., lchibbaro@washblade.com.

The changes brought about by Tuesday's D.C. primary election will also create vacancies in the leadership posts for three powerful committees that could propel gay councilmembers David Catania (R-At-Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) into important roles as committee chairs.

Barry, who became one of the nation's most pro-gay politicians during his tenure as mayor in the 1980s, ousted incumbent Councilmember Sandra Allen (D-Ward 8) by a lopsided margin in the Sept. 14 primary. Barry received 57.2 percent of the vote compared to Allen's 24.9 percent in a seven-candidate race. The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, a local gay group, endorsed Allen, citing her strong support on gay issues during her eight years in office.

Barry has not disclosed his views on most gay-related issues since leaving office as mayor in 1999, and he did not return a questionnaire on gay and AIDS issues sent to all Council candidates this year by the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance.

But Ward 8 gay Democratic activists Brad Lewis and Phil Pannell said they believe Barry will continue to support gay civil rights and AIDS issues in his new role if he's elected to the new Council, which begins its term on Jan. 1. Lewis and Pannell won their own races on Tuesday as Ward 8 members to the D.C. Democratic State Committee.

"Marion Barry still has a very strong record on GLBT issues," Lewis said. "I think he will continue with that record."

In the hotly contested at-large Council race in the Democratic primary, challenger Kwame Brown defeated incumbent Harold Brazil, ending Brazil's hold on the seat for more than 10 years. Brown, who expressed support for all gay rights issues except legalizing same-sex marriage, received 54.2 percent of the vote, compared to Brazil's 32.3 percent. Challenger Sam Brooks, a 24-year-old political newcomer who came out strongly in favor of same-sex marriage, received 13.1 percent of the vote.

Brazil, like Brown, had expressed support on all gay issues except marriage, pointing to his record of backing virtually all gay and AIDS related matters that have come before the Council. Brazil received the backing of gay-oriented businesses, including some gay bar owners. He also received the endorsement of a gay-straight coalition of city nightlife businesses, including restaurants and nightclubs.

Brown received the most votes for an endorsement among Stein Club members but failed to receive the required 60 percent margin to obtain the club's endorsement.

D.C. Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At-large) trounced challengers Robert Pittman and Don Folden in the GOP at-large primary by a margin of 82.7 percent to 11.2 percent and 3.3 percent respectively.

Under the city's election rules, at least one of the two Council at-large seats in contention this year must go to a candidate not from the majority party. If Brown wins one at-large seat as expected, that means Schwartz will likely square off against Statehood Green Party nominee Laurent Ross and independents Antonic Dominquez and Harry Thomas Jr. for the other at-large seat.

Gray defeats Chavous

In Ward 7, challenger Vincent Gray defeated incumbent Kevin Chavous by a margin of 49.9 percent to 33.9 percent in a six-candidate race. Gray received the Stein Club's endorsement.

Although he did not return the GLAA questionnaire, prompting the group to give him a "0" rating on gay issues, Stein Club members said Gray expressed strong support on nearly all gay and AIDS related issues during his appearance before the club earlier this year.

Chavous, while not hostile toward gays, is considered by activists to be the Council's least supportive member on gay issues.

Lewis, who helped campaign for Gray, said he believes the victories of Gray, Barry and Brown were based almost entirely on non-gay issues. Among the issues considered by gays and straights alike, Lewis said, were constituent services, attention to economic development in local neighborhoods rather than the city's downtown business district, and health and social services for the city's low-income residents.

Some critics, including members of GLAA, said Allen had failed to exercise sufficient oversight on public health issues in general, and AIDS in particular, in her role as chair of the Council's Committee on Human Services.

Allen received the endorsement of most of her fellow Council members, including Graham and Catania, as well as the endorsement of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams.

Several gay candidates running for election or re-election to the Democratic State Committee had mixed results in Tuesday's election.

Incumbents Wanda Alston, who serves as the mayor's special assistant for gay affairs, and Darrin Glymph, the Stein Club treasurer, lost in an unexpected upset that resulted in the ouster of a number of prominent incumbents, including State Committee Chair A. Scott Bolden.

Gay candidates did better in races for State Committee seats from three of the city's wards. Pannell and Lewis easily defeated their rivals to capture State Committee seats in Ward 8. Lesbian Democratic activist Karen Armagost won in an uncontested race in Ward 2. In Ward 6, gay Democratic activist Ron Collins, who serves as director of the mayor's Office of Boards & Commissions, received the highest vote total in winning re-election to his Ward 6 seat.

As with the Council races, activists familiar with the State Committee election attributed the outcome to a number of non-gay issues and developments. A key factor, according to Lewis and Channel 4 News political reporter Tom Sherwood, was the strategic decision by a group of insurgents to run under the banner of the "Running Against Bush" slate. With most voters unfamiliar with any of the names of the State Committee candidates, the "Running Against Bush" label appealed to large numbers of voters in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by close to a 10 to 1 margin, Lewis and Sherwood said.

The incumbents, including Alston, Glymph and party chair Bolden, ran under the "Victory 2004" slate, a bland title that lacked "marketing value," according to Lewis. Among those who backed the Victory 2004 slate were Mayor Williams and most Council members, including Council Chair Linda Cropp (D-At-Large).

Lewis and Pannell, who are well known civic activists in their ward, ran under their own independent "Ward 8 Democrats for Progress" slate. The two defeated their rivals by more than a 2 to 1 margin.

Committee shakeup

The ouster of Brazil, Chavous and Allen in Tuesday's primary will create vacancies in three of the Council's most coveted committees: Economic Development, Education, and Human Services.

Council observers have said the Council, under Cropp's direction, would likely divide Allen's Human Services Committee into two separate panels, with one in charge of health issues, including AIDS, and the other in charge of welfare-related human services matters. Graham is said to be one of the lead contenders for the Health committee, although some observers say he may prefer to take on the Economic Development Committee.

Catania is also said to be a potential candidate for the health or human services panel. With Councilmember Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) reportedly interested in trading in her current chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee for Chavous's Education Committee, Catania may also be a top contender of the Judiciary panel.

The advancement of Graham or Catania to a more prominent committee post "would be a real plus" for local gays, said former Stein Club president Kurt Vorndran.

Catania earlier this month endorsed Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry over Bush, a development that many observers believe will lead to Catania's departure from the Republican Party.

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