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Taking note . . .

Observations about public affairs in the nation’s capital
by the editor of The Common Denominator

ALL THE TALK ISN’T ABOUT BARRY: Political intrigue in Ward 8’s council race extends beyond the recent entry of former mayor Marion Barry into the contest. Although Democrat Jacque D. Patterson had only $1,250 cash on hand by early June for his campaign to unseat Sandy Allen in Ward 8, his largest "get" may be Ronald E. Dennis as his campaign chairman.

Until about 18 months ago, Dennis was Allen’s executive assistant. He held that job for almost eight years.

Dennis told Common Denominator staff writer Steve Thurston that he holds no ill will toward the Ward 8 incumbent, who potentially faces eight challengers in the Democratic primary on Sept. 14.

"No, it wasn’t anything that happened," Dennis said of his relationship with Allen. "We’ve been personal friends for years. And nothing happened in our friendship. It’s just a political choice." Allen agreed that the two are still friends. "That’s very much so," she said.

Both Dennis and Patterson, who chairs Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8B, said that the campaign will focus on Patterson’s ability to pull together people in the ward. "We need to move to the future, and Jacque Patterson is the leader who can do that," Dennis said.

Assertions of continuing friendship between Allen and Dennis haven’t quieted the political buzz. "In politics, it’s always strange when a person who was seen as a confidant and ‘Man Friday’ becomes the campaign manager for the opposition," said Eugene Dewitt Kinlow, president of the Ward 8 Democrats. He said many people have asked him about the significance of the switch. He said he hasn’t spoken to either Dennis or Allen about it.

For his part, Patterson is happy to have Dennis on his team. "We’ve always been friends," he said. "He [Dennis] came to me and asked, ‘Have you thought about running?’" Then Dennis offered to help on the campaign. Patterson quit his federal government job in May to avoid running afoul of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from participating in partisan political races.

The idea for Patterson to run apparently originated with Allen about three years ago. Patterson said that his name came up when Dennis was in a meeting with Allen, discussing people who might replace her if she chose not to seek another term in office. Allen confirmed that she suggested Patterson might be a good candidate, but she said that meeting was "two or three years ago" and there was a catch – "If I didn’t run. That’s the catch. If I didn’t run," she emphasized.

Kinlow said some people see Allen as vulnerable. "With nine people running, it shows that some people believe that there’s a need for change," he said.

Dennis said that he really does not have anything against Allen. He just wants to stay fresh and look to the future. He said it’s not a sudden change. "This is two years after I worked for her," he said.

FAIR AND BALANCED: Colleen Williams, an editor with Fox News Channel, donated $8 to Councilman Jack Evans’ re-election campaign, according to the Ward 2 Democrat's campaign finance report filed earlier this month with the Office of Campaign Finance. The small detail was noticed by Common Denominator staff writer Steve Thurston as he combed through the numbers. Williams, a Ward 2 resident, told Thurston that the money came from her and about four friends who were sitting around and joking at a table in a bar. Evans’ campaign wouldn’t take cash, she said, so she had to write a check when she gave the money to Evans. Her name appeared on the campaign’s list, though she said she gave them the names of all the donors. Incumbent Evans is running unopposed in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary but may face a challenge in November from Republican Jesse Price and the D.C. Statehood Green Party’s Jay Marx.

REST IN PEACE: Lloyd D. Smith, 71, who was respectfully referred to by some as the "mayor of Marshall Heights," died June 15 at Howard University Hospital after spending several weeks in intensive care as a result of a punctured lung and other injuries he suffered in a fall while pruning a tree. Smith is the namesake of the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization's headquarters building in Northeast Washington, where he is credited with leading the revitalization of a large swath of Ward 7's commercial and housing corridors. Smith also helped found City First Bank, the District's first community development-oriented financial institution, and was a leader of the fledgling National Capital Revitalization Corp.

Copyright 2004, The Common Denominator