Longtime D.C. Council member Jim Graham died last week at 71. He started his career as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren. He ended it as a shill for a Petworth strip club.

There may well have been more to Jim Graham; there was certainly a lot less. His obituaries so far have hewn to the image that he himself worked hard to cultivate: pioneering civic leader from a time when being “openly” gay was a transgressive act, hyper-vigilant ward boss, a “colorful” figure right down to his bowties and tortoise-shell glasses.