At-large D.C. Councilman Sekou Biddle can’t escape the deep connections between his campaign and Council Chairman Kwame Brown and Brown’s family, despite Biddle’s best efforts to do so. Biddle landed his interim position on the D.C. Council in large part due to the behind-the-scenes efforts of Brown and Mayor Vincent Gray. They used their influence with the D.C. Democratic State Committee to get members to back Biddle’s bid for the seat left vacant by Brown when he became chairman. The two then endorsed Biddle’s campaign to retain the seat in the April 26 special election.
But now that Gray’s controversial hiring choices and Brown’s quest for a black-interior, “fully loaded” Lincoln Navigator and have left the two political leaders wrapped in scandal, Biddle has done his best to distance himself from them.
“My track record of service speaks for itself and I think people will judge me on it,” Biddle said during a Friday candidates forum on WAMU radio.
There are, however, strong ties among Biddle’s campaign, Brown and Brown’s family. Biddle’s campaign, for example, has paid Brown’s father $5,000 in a “salary/stipend,” according to campaign finance records.
But the main connection runs through Quantum Politics, a company owned by Brown’s former council and campaign spokesman, Michael Price.
Biddle has paid Quantum $15,000 to manage his current campaign, finance records show. In 2008, Brown’s at-large council re-election campaign paid Quantum nearly $52,000 in consultant fees, records show.
Price and Quantum have also worked for Partners in Learning, a firm owned by Che Brown — Kwame Brown’s brother. Price appears in YouTube videos promoting Che Brown’s company. Quantum also designed Partners in Learning’s website, Price confirmed to The Washington Examiner.
Price said he has “not done a lot” of work for Che Brown.
“My work for [Biddle] is totally separate and apart from what I’ve done before,” Price said. He said he met Biddle through Biddle’s nonprofit Jumpstart and took Biddle on as a client because he believes Biddle will move the city’s education system forward.
Biddle has gathered support separate from Brown and Gray. He’s been endorsed by at-large Councilman David Catania and Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells. The Service Employees International Union recently endorsed Biddle, touting his “independent leadership.”
Biddle’s closeness to Brown “is not as black and white as people want to make it out to be,” Price said.
