Democratic Primary April 1

[Proud Public Servant]

Curious to know what the site's other DCists think about the upcoming primary. I'm dismayed by the mayor's race: I think Gray's an avatar of the corrupt DC establishment and Bowser's an empty suit. I'm drawn ideologically to either Welles or Shallal, but confess I think Evans would be a more competent mayor than either of them. Not sure when I'll make up my mind.

The At-Large race feels like another choice between a corrupt insider (Bonds) and empty suits; I'll probably vote Fleming.

The hardest one for me is Ward 1. Yes, Jim Graham has ethics problems, but he's also been a councilman who's delivered for our ward, my neighborhood, and in more than one case my building. My higher instincts say vote Nadeau, but it's hard to ignore how much we've benefitted from Graham, dodgy as he may be.

What are others thinking about?

[Chathamization]

1. Here's my take

For the mayor's race I'll probably vote for Shallal. He's definitely the most progressive. Wells is OK, I might be tempted to vote for him if it looked like he had more of a shot. Though honestly, it's hard to tell the current state of the race.

For the at-large race, I'm strongly supporting Bennett-Fleming. I've worked with him in the past on statehood issues and respect him a lot. He's also running as a progressive (in favor of increasing the minimum wage, public financing, expanding homeless shelters and restricting the ability of the council to overturn ballot initiatives) and with the strong backing of the progressive community. I'm definitely going to vote for him, will try to phone bank for him if I have time, and would strongly encourage others to support him as well.

One VERY IMPORTANT race that should not be overlooked - the Democratic State Committee Offices. The Democratic State Committee has been a mess, and I strongly encourage all Democrats to vote for the reformers on The Rent is Too Darn High slate:

http://rentistoodarnhigh.com/

I've worked with a number of them in the past and they have solid credentials. Reforming the state committee is very important - they were the ones that picked their chair, Anita Bonds, to become Councilmember (after Mendelson's seat was left vacant when he became Chairman). The current members were also the ones who decided that they were going to suspend elections and remain in power for two years longer than their terms were for. Blech.

[Proud Public Servant]

2. Great info, thanks!

And it sounds as if I've been shortsighted about Bennett-Fleming's strengths (even though I plan to vote for him). I'll take a closer look.