Ward 1: Jim Graham
Incumbent Jim Graham was showing up at crime scenes long before D.C.’s latest crime emergency was called. He helped shut down three rowdy nightclubs when violence spilled out into local streets. Opponent Chad Williams lost credibility among crime-weary residents when he admitted in court that he assaulted his former girlfriend. So it’sGraham by default, even though his latest efforts to extend rent control will ultimately harm the low-income neighborhoods in Ward 1 that need affordable housing the most.
Ward 3: Eric Goulet
Of the many Democrats running in Ward 3, only Eric Goulet expressed alarm about the city’s financial future. “We’re running the highest per-capita debt of any jurisdiction in the United States during a time of surplus, and I’m very, very concerned about that,” Finance Chairman Jack Evans’ former clerk told The Examiner. District residents better be concerned too; in an economic downturn, the combination could be disastrous.
To prevent another fiscal meltdown, Goulet wants to link residential property tax increases to the inflation rate and limit annual growth of the city’s budget to a sustainable 5 percent. These proposals are not politically sexy, but the council could have prevented the humiliation of the Control Board years ago had it been following such sound advice.
Ward 5: Regina James
Eleven candidates running for Vincent Orange’s soon-to-be-vacated seat mean one thing: Ward 5 will be the scene of some of D.C.’s biggest political battles as the city attempts to spread economic development to an area that only recently got its own grocery store.
Frontrunners Harry Thomas Jr. and Frank Wilds would both make excellent council members, but we favor long-shot ANC Commissioner Regina James for her unwavering focus on public safety in a ward where people still get shot inside the new Giant.
The kind of dogged effort James displayed when she spent more than three years trying to get the Metropolitan Police Department to close down the open-air drug markets plaguing her neighborhood will be invaluable on a council that too often pretends that the city’s biggest problem will just go away on its own.
Ward 6: Curtis Etherly
Ward 6 is already experiencing the growing pains of development, with the Washington Nationals’ new baseball stadium and development of the Navy Yard and the Anacostia waterfront still to come. Of the three Democrats seeking to replace retiring Council Member Sharon Ambrose, Curtis Etherly possesses the best mix of public service, non-profit experience and business acumen to negotiate the big changes ahead.
A graduate of Ballou Senior High School’s acclaimed math and science program who went on to Yale University and Georgetown Law, Etherly understands how crucial education is to the future health and economic vitality of the District of Columbia.
Unlike opponent Tommy Wells, who’s been on the School Board for the past five years with little to show for it, Etherly is not responsible for the District’s educational shortcomings. He’s personally had to overcome them. But as the chairman of the board of the Washington Math Science Technology Public Charter High School, Etherly is now poised to be the council’s strongest advocate for charter schools — and lead the way out of decades of educational mediocrity.
“Shadow” U.S. senator and U.S. representative: Nobody. Wonder why the rest of the country still doesn’t take D.C.’s legitimate claim to voting rights in Congress seriously? These fake jobs sure don’t help.
