“I have never seen Vincent [Orange] do anything illegal,” a D.C. Council member told me during a chat about how the campaign finance controversy might effect the April 3 Democratic Primary and the at-large legislator’s re-election bid.
Orange has become ensnared in Vincent C. Gray’s 2010 campaign scandal. It began when Sulaimon Brown, a minor candidate in that race, alleged he was paid cash and promised a job by Gray to trash the incumbent. Brown said payments were made via money orders. Those allegations prompted a federal investigation in 2011.
That probe appears to have expanded into whether Gray’s campaign systematically circumvented contribution limits using “straw donors” and money orders. His operation reportedly trafficked in substantial numbers of money orders — some provided by bundler extraordinaire Jeffrey E. Thompson, whose home and office were recently raided by the FBI. Orange has said he received during the 2011 special election “suspicious” money orders from Thompson.
“Until this broke, no one had any idea something was amiss,” Orange told me. Unfortunately, other officials also have been tainted; Thompson helped them raise money.
I like Orange. He has an impressive record of service to the city as Ward 5 councilman. His work over past year has been equally commendable. He was on track to re-election. But his opponents — Rev. E. Gail Anderson Holness, Sekou Biddle and Peter Shapiro — have exploited the campaign finance controversy, asserting Orange is a disciple of a “pay to play” system.
“I’ve heard a lot of people saying he didn’t do anything illegal. I was always taught to perform and behave to the standard of what’s right and wrong, which is well above what’s legal,” said Biddle, who was selected in 2011 by the Democratic State Committee — with the aid of strong armed tactics of then-Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. and Chairman Kwame Brown — to fill temporarily the seat vacated by Brown. Orange defeated Biddle in the special election.
“It looked like straw-man donations. How could somebody who is a lawyer and an accountant not see that in [his] campaign,” asked Shapiro, a former Prince George’s County councilman who returned to the District in 2009. Perhaps he would have been a contender, if he had lived here longer and racial politics weren’t still being played out in local elections.
“I’m the only candidate who has not received corporate donations,” declared Holness, president of the Inter-Faith Conference. She called the campaign scandal “a distraction,” citing employment, education and affordable housing as more important.
“The most urgent issue is ethics,” said Biddle. “In the absence of tackling that, we can’t focus on anything else.”
Orange has defended his integrity: “I am not a part of these investigations nor do I expect to be.” He has touted his record, noting among other things, he has helped improve conditions for small businesses; facilitated the construction of a movie soundstage that could mean new revenue; and pushed for early childhood education.
“I still think I am part of the solution,” said Orange.
Jonetta Rose Barras’s column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
