Stephanie, a Ward 4 resident, is giving me grief about why I haven’t written about the fiscal woes of at-large D.C. Councilman Kwame Brown. He has $50,000 in credit card debt and, he said, total personal debt of $700,000, including the cost of his house.
“He needs to step down from the City Council,” she said.
Brown isn’t going anywhere. In fact, he’s running for chairman of the council. As the legislature’s budget leader, the chairman guides the discussions and decisions about how the city spends more than $9 billion in federal grants and local taxes.
“It doesn’t look good; it’s not a good face for our city,” said Stephanie, who asked why the media have ignored such a major issue in the chairman’s race.
No one has ignored it. It’s true that the media, including this columnist, haven’t given the issue continued coverage Stephanie and others believe it deserves. But one-third of the country is experiencing financial problems, whether it’s related to home foreclosures or credit cards. A bunch of folks live in glass houses and are reluctant to throw stones.
“There have been countless hours of conversations and stories about this,” Brown told me earlier this week. “It’s not something I’m proud of. I’ve accepted full responsibility and made arrangements to pay what I owe.”
Brown cited his work as chairman of the committee on economic development as an example of how he has successfully handled the public’s money. “I’ve been on the side of being quite conservative,” he said, adding that he’s prepared to lead the council to make tough financial decisions.
Chuck Thies, a consultant on District politics, isn’t surprised people still are talking about this issue more than a month after the news broke. “If the city were not experiencing serious financial challenges, it might not be as important.” Thies works on Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham’s campaign but was not speaking in his capacity as his campaign manager.
“Kwame has learned how to be a good politician,” Thies said. “I don’t think Kwame has convinced people he’s learned to be a solid public official.”
District residents have only a few ways to discern Brown’s financial management abilities, Thies said: his record as a councilman, how he managed money in his previous political campaigns and his own personal finances.
During Brown’s first run for the council — against Harold Brazil — there were concerns about the amount of money he paid his father and brother. During the last election there were allegations he pressured certain developers to make contributions to his campaign. And now we learn that he waited until he was sued before he dealt with his debt.
“Kwame Brown is not ready to lead. He’s too young, too frivolous and does not have the educational background,” said Tony DePasse, a Ward 1 resident.
But Brown is a likable politician. Should style rule substance? Or are the issues mentioned by Stephanie, Thies, DePasse and others sufficient reasons to fill in the oval for his chief opponent, Vincent Orange?
Jonetta Rose Barras can be reached at mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]
