Alexander Faces Yet Another Challenger
D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) already has a Republican, Ron Moten, to face in the Nov. 6 general election but there's talk on the street that she may have another competitor.
Tongues are wagging in Ward 7, which is primarily located east of the Anacostia River, that Tom Brown, a former Democratic Party primary foe, will wage a write-in campaign against Alexander. "I have heard talk about Tom Brown doing that," said Phillip Hammond, a longtime political activist and a three-term advisory neighborhood commissioner for 7B04. "I have no proof that he is going to do that, though."
Democratic, Republican and the D.C. Statehood Green party candidates who competed in the Tue., April 3 primary cannot run as independents in the general election because of D.C. law. They can, however, run as write-in candidates and campaign as such, but must still abide by D.C. campaign finance laws if they raise money.
While Alexander, 50, easily won the Democratic Party primary on Tue., April 3, she won with only 41 percent of the vote in a field of four active challengers [Monica Johnson, who got 73 votes, dropped out of the race before the day of the primary]. Brown finished second with nearly 22 percent of the vote and had the support of The Washington Post, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce's political action committee and the Metropolitan Washington AFL-CIO.
Kemry Hughes, Brown's campaign manager for the April 3 primary, said that he's heard rumblings about a possible draft committee for Brown to run in the fall election.
"I have heard that there have been some meetings with some folks in the ward about a Tom Brown write-in effort but I do not know anything else because I am not a part of it," said Hughes, 50.
Hammond, 70, did confirm one former challenger to Alexander who will not run in the November general election.
"The candidate that I supported, Kevin B. Chavous, has decided not to pursue a write-in candidacy," he said.
Hopkins Honored by D.C. Council
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown (D) and D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) teamed up recently to honor one of Ward 8's most well-known business leaders.
During a meeting of the Committee of the Whole of the D.C. Council on Tue., May 15, Brown sponsored a ceremonial resolution to laud the accomplishments of Albert "Butch" Hopkins, president and chief executive officer of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), which is based in Southeast. Barry co-sponsored the resolution.
"I have known Butch Hopkins for 35 years," said Barry, 76. "He is an unsung hero in our city."
Hopkins, who is also the president of the development corporation subsidiary, Anacostia Holding Company, has been a longtime advocate for economic development in Ward 8, which is wholly located east of the Anacostia River. He has served as past president of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association, is a former board member of the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce, a founding member of the Anacostia Coordinating Council and is active in the Anacostia Business Improvement District Corporation.
Hopkins served as executive director of the AEDC from 1974-1982. In 1982, he became the president and chief executive officer of the AEDC and has played a major role in the economic development of Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast and such developments as the Knox Hill Village Townhomes, Anacostia Gateway Development Project and the Good Hope Marketplace Shopping Center. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said that Hopkins has served the city well.
"I applaud his constant efforts to move projects east of the river, such as Saint Elizabeths and many affordable housing units, forward," said Gray, 69.