Folks who thought Mayor Adrian M. Fenty would cede predominantly African-American territory simply because independent surveys had indicated many blacks weren’t enamored of the first-term executive had better think again. That’s the message from the straw poll conducted Saturday by the Ward 8 Democratic organization.
Fenty won 69-61 over his prime contender, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray. Leo Alexander received 10 votes. The remainder of the 147 secret ballots was divided among four other candidates also participating in the event at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Southeast.
Traditionally, Democratic organizations in each of the city’s eight wards hold candidate forums. At each event, registered voters are invited to cast ballots. The winner must receive 66 percent of the votes to secure the group’s endorsement.
This year, with as many as 10 candidates vying to become mayor, the leadership of the Ward 8 Dems concluded it was unlikely any one individual could garner the percentage necessary to win endorsement, the group’s chairman, Jacque D. Patterson, explained to me. The straw poll allowed the candidate receiving the majority votes to be declared winner.
“We also wanted to start the momentum for the race and set the tone for the rest of the city,” Patterson added.
What tone does a Fenty victory set? After all, Ward 8 — like Wards 7 and 5 — had been considered a Gray stronghold. For several years, he led a nonprofit organization based there. He is a former Ward 7 representative and still lives there. In the vernacular, east of the Anacostia River is his ‘hood.
So what happened?
“We take nothing for granted” has been Fenty’s mantra in every election beginning with his stunning victory over political stalwart Councilwoman Charlene Drew Jarvis and continuing through his 2006 drubbing of former Council Chairwoman Linda Cropp. That philosophy was on display Saturday.
Even before the forum began, dueling campaign workers — mostly from Gray’s and Fenty’s teams — were at the entrance to the parking lot, wearing their camps’ paraphernalia and talking plenty of trash, signaling the seriousness candidates ascribed to the event. Soon the workers joined the residents inside.
But, as the number of Gray supporters became finite, individuals wearing Fenty re-election stickers on their clothing continued to stream into the room. The incumbent had outorganized his challengers. What’s more, Fenty took advantage of the same-day registration and voting Ward 8 Dems allowed — consistent with recent changes in citywide election laws.
Sources told me Gray’s camp groused about same-day voting. But the chairman can’t gripe; the council he leads approved that measure, despite warnings from election advocates of the havoc that action could wreak.
While symbolic, the election showcased the determination and sophistication of Fenty’s “Green Machine,” as his political operation is called. It provided evidence that some voters simply may sit out the election; several high-profile Democrats in the ward whom I know didn’t come to cast their votes. Those elements, when considered together, mean results of the Democratic primary are likely to be extremely close.
Jonetta Rose Barras can be reached at [email protected].
