By jonetta rose barras
Examiner Columnist
Recently, while on the dais in the D.C. Council chamber, Ward 1’s Jim Graham announced the election was held and he was the winner. He may have won the Democratic Primary but the election isn’t over. The three-term legislator faces strong opposition from the Republican Party’s Marc Morgan.
A 10-year resident in arguably the most diverse ward in the city, Morgan has been out knocking on doors and getting a good reception from residents, whom he said have expressed dissatisfaction with Graham.
“He keeps playing politics as a game to win elections. People are over that,” Morgan told me. “They want a council member who represents them.”
Graham is unfazed: “I carried every precinct in the ward,” he said, adding that a lot of people appreciate his 30-year record of public service, which includes a stint as head of the Whitman Walker Clinic.
Still, about 43 percent of the Democrats voted against him. His two primary opponents garnered 6,314 votes while Graham won 8, 318, according to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics.
“Let’s not forget [the 57 percent],” said Graham. “There are many ways to read election results.”
Graham may not be worried. But those results have inspired Morgan, who hopes to stitch together a coalition of Republicans, Independents and a few of those dissatisfied Democrats. There are 2,748 Republicans and 10,756 Independents. 39,854 Democrats outnumber them. But, as has happened in the past, Democratic turnout in November often declines.
“Ward 1 has changed a lot over the last five years, and the council member has not changed with it, ” said Morgan. He said voters have described Graham as “disengaged” on many fronts, particularly education.
“What is his record of service in the District?” asks Graham while touting his own work to improve school facilities and “support of the mayor’s [education] initiatives.”
An environmentalist, Morgan came to the metropolitan area as a fund raiser for the Maryland Republican Party. He lives in LeDroit Park, has a son and is openly gay. While he has strong connections with national conservatives, he said he’s focused on the District: school reform, small business development and public safety. He said he and other Republican candidates–Dave Hedgepeth in Ward 3, Tim Day in Ward 5, and Jim DeMartino in Ward 6–want to “build a sustainable city” that works for everyone.
“We are all progressive, moderate-minded Republicans, ” Morgan added, arguing one party control hasn’t been good for the city.
“What have Republicans done for the District of Columbia,” asks Graham. “Republicans have been an obstacle at every turn. [They] have stood in the way of this city’s freedom.”
Truth be told, when it comes to the city’s development, Democrats haven’t done District residents any big favors either. Still, that argument of Republican obstructionism, being played out in the national media, may hinder Morgan’s progress–unless he can keep voters focused on their own backyards.
Jonetta rose barras can be reached at [email protected]
Jonetta Rose Barras’s column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
