Eugene Kinlow
Sloan Sure of D.C. Council Bid
Douglass Sloan, the advisory neighborhood commissioner for 4B09 and campaign manager for D.C. Council member Vincent Orange's (D-At Large) re-election effort, said that he will likely compete for the interim D.C. Council member position that will become vacant when, as expected, interim D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson wins his post permanently in a special election on Nov. 6.
"Based on my experience, I think I [would] be a good council member," said Sloan, 41. "My main platform position [would] be to create a viable, sustainable [business environment] for the District of Columbia and to make the D.C. Democratic State Committee more relevant in city politics."
The D.C. Board of Elections will declare Mendelson's at-large seat vacant soon after he, as expected, wins on Nov. 6. Mendelson is a Democrat and by District law, it's up to the D.C. Democratic State Committee, to select an interim D.C. Council member until a special citywide election is held.
The special election will probably take place in early March 2013 and the selection for the interim D.C. Council member will take place in late November.
Anita Bonds, the chairman of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, has also indicated that she will seek the appointment. Sloan is an ex-officio member of the D.C. Democratic State Committee.
Sloan, a resident of Northwest, is a native Washingtonian and owns a public affairs consulting firm, Sloan Consulting, LLC in Northwest. He has worked for D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, D.C. Council member Harold Brazil, and worked with Adrian Fenty in his 2000 election to the D.C. Council and the successful 2006 mayoral campaign.
In 2010, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party nomination for the District's delegate to the U.S. Congress.
Sloan said that he has a shot at the position.
"The consensus among committee members is to select someone from within the ranks," he said.
Sloan said that he "will think long and hard" about running in the special election, if he's not selected.
"It is about raising money from fundraisers," he said. "As the incumbent, even for the short period of time, has a lot of advantages and I can use that to raise money and make people aware of my candidacy."
District political analyst Chuck Thies said that Sloan may have a tough time getting the interim D.C. Council member appointment because of Bonds.
"I think that Bonds has already lined up the votes to take that spot," said Thies, 47. "If Douglass defeats her that would be quite an accomplishment."
Still, Thies admires Sloan's moxie.
"He has taken on Eleanor Holmes Norton and he is about to take on Anita Bonds," he said. "He's not a chicken."
Kinlow Mum on Next DC Vote Leader
Eugene Kinlow, the public affairs director for DC Vote, an organization dedicated to securing full political rights for District residents, hinted but didn't confirm, that he's interested in being the organization's next executive director. Executive Director Ilir Zherka is leaving DC Vote at the end of October to lead another advocacy group.
"It is the board of directors who decides who the next executive director [will be]," said Kinlow, 50. "There are steps in the process for selecting the executive director. There is the announcement that the position is vacant, then the board selects the interim executive director and then the permanent director is picked."
Kinlow, a resident of Southeast, is a well-known civic and political activist who has run for a D.C. Council at-large position and the Ward 8 post on the D.C. State Board of Education. He is the co-host of WPFW's "D.C. Politics Hour."
Kinlow said that it's likely the interim executive director will not be selected for the permanent position. For the time being, Kinlow's keeping his options open.
"I'm supportive of the process."