Stand at the corner of 14th and Park Road, where rioters torched stores in April 1968, and you will see the epicenter of the new Washington. Then it was an African American neighborhood served by corner grocers and cleaners and liquor stores; now it’s a mix of whites, blacks and Hispanics where national chains like Target and Starbucks serve yuppies and buppies.
We don’t need to wait for the next census to see that a city that was once 80 percent African American is on the verge of losing its mantle as a majority black town. But does the gentrification and change in demographics mean that a political shift can take place?
Can a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 10-1 have a meaningful local GOP that is more than a club for aging white folks?
“Absolutely,” Patrick Mara says. He’s the young New Englander who strode into town and bumped off Carol Schwartz, the only Republican to win elected office in the nation’s capital, and remain a Republican.
“We have a diverse group of potential candidates,” Mara says. “Even our executive director is Mexican-American.”
That would be Paul Diego Craney, sitting to Mara’s right. Craney’s mother comes from Mexico; he comes from New Jersey. The two Republican go-getters have asked me and WRC-TV reporter Tom Sherwood to meet and talk politics.
“Demographics really don’t matter,” Craney says. “It’s all about messaging.” The message most Washingtonians have gotten from Republicans has come with a dismissive back of the hand from GOP congressmen and senators. Acting as congressional overlords, they have often stepped in to overturn local laws to suit their conservative constituencies. Think Republican congressmen who oppose the council’s vote to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
To appeal to D.C. voters, who are notoriously liberal regardless of party affiliation, the local GOP has to run from the national party. It also has to sort out its identity problem. When Mara challenged Schwartz, the local party blackballed him. Now that he beat her in the primary, he’s on the executive committee.
“Losing Carol is a Catch-22,” Craney says. “We don’t have a Republican on the council, but we are free to go after the council. We see ourselves as watchdogs.”
That’s a noble and necessary role, but the only dog I see in the D.C. GOP is the tiny terrier in the arms of Vice Chairwoman Teri Galvez, pictured on the party Web site. Republicans do have issues. Craney is a strong advocate for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s crime bill with its tougher language. He and Mara support charter schools and school choice; neither are popular on the uber-Democratic council.
Playing watchdog is well and good, but a political party needs candidates. Will Mara run in 2010?
“I think I’ll sit this one out,” he says.
Craney says he will run African-American candidates against Harry Thomas Jr. in Ward 5. No names.
“We don’t like to out them,” he says, “but we have one ANC member in every ward.” Come out, come out, wherever you are — or D.C. will forever be a one-party town.
