In working the streets and the phones to figure out where our nascent mayoral campaign is headed, I realized I was dealing with two realities — parallel universes, if you prefer.

In one, council members battle it out to win the executive branch’s top job. Ward 4’s Muriel Bowser announced her candidacy first. After exploring a possible run for many months, last weekend Tommy Wells from Ward 6 threw his hat in the ring. We now have two official candidates. We might have a third, if Jack Evans joins the contest. We might have a fourth, in at-large Council member David Catania.