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The CurrenT Nov. 4, 2014 ■ GENERAL ELEctioN MAyor
About the voters Guide The Current’s Voters Guide for the Nov. 4 general election appears in The Current and The Washington Informer. The section is also available online at issuu.com/currentnewspapers. The Current’s staff interviewed the major candidates in the contests for mayor, attorney general, D.C. Council chairman, two at-large D.C. Council seats, and the Ward 1 and Ward 3 seats on the State Board of Education. The section also includes background information on Initiative Measure No. 71, “Legalization of Possession of Minimal Amounts of Marijuana for Personal Use Act of 2014.” In the mayoral race, independent Nestor Djonkam, Statehood Green nominee Faith and Libertarian nominee Bruce Majors were not interviewed because they had not raised at least $25,000 in campaign funds. In the chairman’s race, Libertarian nominee Kyle Walker and Statehood Green nominee G. Lee Aikin were not interviewed for the same reason. In the at-large race, Libertarian nominee Frederick Steiner, independent Wendell Felder, Statehood Green nominee Eugene Puryear, independent Calvin Gurley and Republican nominee Marc Morgan were not interviewed because they had not raised at least $25,000. Due to space limitations, we were unable to include the Ward 1 and Ward 3 D.C. Council races, in which only the Democratic nominees have raised more than $10,000 in campaign funds. In the Ward 3 race, Democratic incumbent Mary M. Cheh faces Libertarian Ryan Sabot; in the Ward 1 race, Democratic nominee Brianne K. Nadeau faces Libertarian John Vaught LaBeaume and independent Ernest E. Johnson. In the congressonal election for D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, each of the challengers to Democratic incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton — Statehood Green nominee Natale Lino Stracuzzi, Republican nominee Nelson F. Rimensnyder and independent Timothy J. Krepp — raised less than $25,000. We were also unable to include the statehood senate seat (in which Democratic incumbent Paul Strauss is facing Statehood Green nominee David Schwartzman, Libertarian John Daniel and independent Glenda J. Richmond) or the statehood representative post (in which Democrat Franklin Garcia is running against Libertarian Martin Moulton and Statehood Green nominee Joyce Robinson-Paul). The Nov. 4 ballot will also include advisory neighborhood commission seats.
About the election The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4. Voters will be able to use either paper ballots or touch-screen voting equipment at their assigned polling place. You may also request an absentee ballot by mail through Oct. 28. Early voting began Oct. 20 at One Judiciary Square, 441 4th St. NW, and will continue daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 1 except Sunday, Oct. 26. Satellite early-voting locations — including the Chevy Chase, Columbia Heights and Takoma community centers — will be open Oct. 25 through Nov. 1, except on Sunday. For details, visit dcboee.org or call 202727-2525.
VoTers Guide Muriel Bowser Democratic Nominee
David Catania independent
Carol Schwartz independent
Muriel Bowser
David Catania
Carol Schwartz
Democratic candidate Muriel Bowser lives in Riggs Park and serves as Ward 4’s representative on the D.C. Council. She chairs the council’s Economic Development Committee and sits on the board of directors for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Bowser discussed her three mayoral priorities with The Current in an interview before she won the Democratic primary this spring. She said if elected, she would focus on accelerating school reform across all eight wards; growing the District’s middle class, with a focus on affordable housing and jobs; and building an open, transparent and efficient government. Reforming the District’s middle schools is Bowser’s top interest in education. “I think confidence and quality in our lower grades has improved dramatically,” she said, but “parents lose confidence as their children approach the middle grades.” The council member is pitching a citywide reform initiative — “Alice Deal for All” — named for Ward 3’s successful Deal Middle School. She said it’s important to identify schools on the cusp of success, and provide them “the resources they need to push them to tier-one status.” The candidate has pledged to retain D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. “She demonstrated to me that she has the urgency and vision,” Bowser said at a forum this summer. At the high school level, Bowser would focus on curriculum in science, technology, engineering and math, and increase technical skills education such as computer training. Furthermore, she added, “With upcoming high school renovations, we have the opportunity to replicate programs like Benjamin Banneker Academic High School and the School Without Walls in other parts of the city.” To preserve and grow D.C.’s middle class, Bowser’s first concern is affordable housing. She pledged to continue to invest $100 million annually and to seek a steady funding See Bowser/Page V12
David Catania, an at-large D.C. Council member since 1997, is running for mayor as an independent. If elected, he would focus on education, housing and economic development. Catania touts his accomplishments as chair of the council’s Education Committee. He has visited more than 140 of the District’s public schools, meeting with principals, teachers, students and parents. Through legislation, he secured $80 million in new funding for at-risk students and ended social promotion, the practice of passing students along from grade to grade regardless of their academic performance. Moving forward, Catania would seek to strengthen special education programs and fund college and career training scholarships for D.C. students of modest means. He would also aim to invest capital funds in the University of the District of Columbia to improve the school’s facilities, as well as integrate D.C.’s workforce development and job training program with the school’s community college. Summarizing the importance of sound education policy, Catania said, “We need a high-quality public school system to create the workforce for tomorrow.” On housing, Catania described the District’s current homelessness crisis as “the worst in a generation.” He also criticized Democratic mayoral nominee Muriel Bowser, the Ward 4 Council member, for failing to proactively address housing issues in her capacity as chair of the housing committee. Catania said D.C. needs an annual housing strategy and “an annual rendezvous with accountability.” His strategy would include finding a designated funding source for the Housing Production Trust Fund and emulating affordable housing programs like New York City’s, wherein local and federal incentives are paired to create more low-cost units. Catania also said his previous legislative work on HIV/AIDS should serve as a model for the kind of action See Catania/Page V10
Carol Schwartz formerly served as an at-large D.C. Council member for a total of 16 years. If elected mayor, she would focus on education, affordable housing and creating “a fiscally sound government that works.” On education, Schwartz hopes to expand pre-kindergarten programs as well as vocational and technical learning. She would ask D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson to stay on for at least another year in an effort to maintain stability in education reform. “I think stability is important,” Schwartz said. “We don’t need to be doing another search [for a new chancellor] and going through that commotion.” Schwartz said the District is probably putting too much emphasis on standardized testing as a means of assessing students and teachers, but she believes that type of testing is necessary to some degree. She recalled how former D.C. Schools Superintendent Barbara Sizemore once argued that standardized test questions had a racial bias, but Schwartz was unfazed: “I said, you know what, it’s a racist world out there, and our kids are going to have to learn how to compete in that world, and I want to give them the tools they need.” Schwartz would also push for more coordination between charter schools and traditional public schools as well as an increased focus on adult illiteracy. In addition, she said, “I think neighborhood schools at the elementary school level are very important, having been a D.C. Public Schools parent. When kids are young and small, they need to be near their homes.” Schwartz stresses her experience with education over many decades of public service, including as a special education teacher, a full-time consultant to the U.S. Department of Education and the vice chair of the National Advisory Council on the Education of Disadvantaged Children. “I didn’t just chair a committee for a See Schwartz/Page V12
The Washington Informer & The Current Newspapers General Election Voters Guide / OCTOBER 2014 / V-1