D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown is pitching himself as the District’s young, “hip” leader.
“D.C. is hip, hip and young, and I’m part of the generation of families with young kids movement that’s happening in this city,” Brown, 40, said in an exclusive interview with The Washington Examiner.
A recent Washington Post article said new U.S. Census numbers show people in their 20s and 30s now comprise one-third of the city’s population and were a driving force in adding about 30,000 residents to the District. Brown said he embodies the city’s young population on the council as he sought to separate himself from Mayor Vince Gray, who preceeded Brown as D.C. Council chairman.
“The mayor is 28 years older than me,” Brown said. “He has grandchildren, I have small children. … I won’t be the same as he was. I’m not the same type of person even from a generational standpoint.”
Brown replaced Gray as chairman in January, and has been criticized for not having the same type of control of the council as Gray did.
“There’s no fighting that’s going that’s unusual,” Brown said. “Marion Barry and David Catania arguing? That’s not unusual. That’s been going on for how long? This is a time when normal disagreements are being highlighted by a $320 million budget shortfall.”
