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Poll Position
The recent release of the first legit DC mayor’s race poll seems to be a persuasive shove to get The Most Holy Vincent C. Gray into the mayoral ring.
It certainly gives new meaning to the term “push poll.”
The Nose used to think of this technique as an effective — if somewhat slimy — way to influence how voters think about candidates, not a way to influence how candidates think about voters. Yet clearly the survey of 501 DC registered voters by the Clarus Research Group was meant to do the latter.
In a head-to-head contest, the current DC Council Chairman topped Mayor BlackBerry 41 percent to 37 percent, according to the late November Clarus poll. That leaves 22 percent, or 110, of those surveyed undecided.
Now it’s time for Gray to make a decision.
The Nose, for one, is certainly in favor of the chairman jumping in. Competitive elections are a sign of a healthy democracy. They also make for a healthy and happy Nose, and not only because The Most Holy Gray and Mayor BlackBerry seem particularly adept at beefin’ — to be all Peaceaholics about it. Because Gray would have to give up his seat to run, there’s also the possibility of Jack “Bobblehead” Evans in a deathmatch throwdown for DC Council Chairman against Phil “Nitpicker” Mendelson and Jim the Grahamstander in the most Wonderbread citywide contest possibly ever in DC politics.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to The Nose!
On his way to the Board of Elections, however, The Nose suggests Gray make a quick pit stop at a local Staples to pick up some plain stationery. Hours after the Clarus poll was released, Gray sent out a self-congratulatory memo on his official DC Council letterhead. That’s a no-no.
A poll is political, and candidates are supposed to maintain a firewall between government business and political business. Indeed, The Nose thought Gray would be particularly sensitive to this issue since the Washington Post busted the chairman for making a political solicitation on council stationery already last month.
The Nose also suggests the council chairman work on growing some thicker skin for the possible 10 months of beefin’ to come. In a barrage of pre-Thanksgiving stories questioning Gray’s ethics, the chairman came off like the Coasters’ 1959 hit, “Charlie Brown: Why Is Everybody Always Pickin’ On Me?”
The Nose is referring, of course, to the illuminating stories by Jeffrey Anderson in the Washington Times. He reported that a prominent real estate company with significant ties to DC government had been doing a little Bob Vila work on Chairman Gray’s house. Though the repairs had been made this summer, The Most Holy Gray wrote a check in early November, and, according to Anderson, after the reporter had been making inquiries with William C. Smith & Co., the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and others about the home improvements.
The comparisons to a former Alaska senator were made, and Gray did not take kindly to it.
“I don't want to sound holier than thou,” Gray told the Washington Times in one of the stories, "but I take my integrity very seriously.”
The Most Holy might start preparing for more substantive attacks that Gray, himself, has provided. Take one of his signature pieces of legislation, Pre-K for All. After a recent oversight hearing on the measure, Gray told this to the Washington Examiner: “This [law] has little to nothing to show for it.”
Fenty: Maybe Take Metro?
Mayor BlackBerry’s had a rough couple of weeks. First, WTOP investigative reporter Mark Segraves went all Michael Moore on him, videotaping our triathlete mayor as he went lawbreaking on his road bicycle. Then his schools chancellor got caught up in a sex scandal involving her famous fiancé. Next, Mayor BlackBerry got dissed and dismissed by former colleague and Ward 6 Councilmember Sharon Ambrose in the Post: “It's destructive for a mayor to continually trample on the lawful prerogatives of the co-equal legislative branch by denying it ready access to information,” Ambrose wrote. “And it's just plain dumb to wade into the muck of cronyism.”
The Nose has always considered the former Ward 6 councilmember a little on the prickly side, but Ambrose’s observations were certainly reflected in the poll.
Mayor BlackBerry received his highest disapproval ratings in these three categories:
- Handling city finances
- Bringing people together to solve problems
- Putting the city’s interest above politics
Fenty did get high marks for keeping streets clean, crime down and trying to improve the public schools. Yet the schools issue might get more complicated with the latest allegations swirling around Rhee. In one word: Yuck.
This is how The Nose felt after reading the A1 story in the Los Angeles Times about a Congressional report on misuse of government funds by St. Hope Academy, a charter school in Sacramento run by Rhee fiancé Kevin Johnson. The story mentioned Rhee’s active involvement in trying to sweep under the rug allegations about sexual misconduct by KJ with at least one female student at the school. Rhee served on the school’s board of directors.
The Nose will be interested to see if the story has an impact on Rhee’s own approval rating, which was surprisingly higher than her boss, Mayor BlackBerry. Rhee received a 47 percent approval rating and a 39 percent disapproval, compared to Fenty’s 43 percent approval and 49 percent disapproval.
Bring on 2010!!
The Nose wishes all his Dear Readers a Joyous and Peaceful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year! |
