Tim Day, the Republican candidate for Ward 5’s D.C. Council seat, hosted a “meet and greet” at Brookland’s San Antonio Bar & Grill last night. This blogger stopped by to check in on the longshot’s campaign.
Upon finding the right room, the candidate approached with an awkward, but courteous, “Can I help you?” It seems Day is still learning how to “work the room” like a back slapping pol. I almost felt like he was suspicious of me. That’s no way to put a potential voter at east to consider his spiel.
The first few faces sighted were those of District Republican poo-bahs: DC GOP Chair Bob Kabel, Executive Director Paul Diego Craney and DC’s RNC Committeeman Tony Parker. When asked how many actual Ward 5 voters had shown up, Day proceeds to tilt his head up and count on his fingers, whispering aloud until he arrives at the figure of 12. Five of those were new faces to Day. A couple of Ward 5 business owners stopped by, too, he was quick to add.
Day has vexed publicly via campaign email missive about how he’s found his political affiliation to turn off Ward 5 voters otherwise intrigued by his message: “Over the past few months, those who have been receptive of my message have suddenly turned cheek when they find I am a Republican. Personally, I don’t understand the blind hatred.”
Day offered an update on how he’s addressing that concern. He goes about it by “being honest,” and confirming that “I am a Republican,” but “the only thing Republican about me” is Day’s insistence on fiscal responsibility. He was quick to offer that he is a strong supporter of gun control. Day reminded this blogger of his quote in The Washington Times: “We’re not all Dick Cheney.”
Asked about how incumbent Council Member Harry Thomas, Jr. comfortable primary majority, uncharacteristic for Ward 5’s famously fractured Democrats, would fit into his general election strategy, Day was puzzled: “I don’t know how to answer that question.”
Thomas’ big win limits the pool of identifiable voters disaffected with the incumbent that Day can immediately appeal to. He mentioned he’s found primary challenger Kenyan McDuffie’s voters more open to considering him in the general. This is remarkable as McDuffie was the favorite of the ward’s young, white liberal gentrifiers; folks who are certified GOP-phobes. The notoriously socially conservative Delano Hunter’s primary supporters haven’t been receptive to the openly gay Republican Day, the candidate reported, adding a sphinxlike, that Hunter’s fans are “hoping he will make a come back.” Does that mean Hunter will launch a write-in bid in November. “I have no idea what that means,” Day answered, bemusedly.
On our way out, Day offered his new weapon for sowing the seeds of doubt over Thomas in the minds of Ward 5 voters.
Ward 5 politics are “all about” libraries, parks and rec centers, the stuff of ward-based constituent services, Day advises, as he offered a memo he’s distributing that questions the non-profit status of the incumbent’s DCTC-Team Thomas outfit. Thomas hypes it as an extra-governmental means of disseminating those types of services: “a non-profit organization for …youth and senior program development. Team Thomas has successfully run comprehensive after school and weekend youth skills training clinics across the city, as well as interactive learning summer camps…Each year, Team Thomas distributes turkeys to needy families and hosts a toy drive and holiday breakfast with Santa.”
Day aims to get his digging into the back end of DCTC-Team Thomas out to as many Ward 5 voters as possible, hoping it will help them overcome their partisan qualms and give him a shot at taking Thomas out.
