Saturday was the final early voting day before the District’s primary election day, and outside the Chevy Chase Community Center on Upper Connecticut Ave., NW, the atmosphere reminds an observer of an election day with respectable, yet lower-than-expected turnout, especially for such a sunny and breezy day.
A couple of blocks from the Maryland line, this site is the Northwestern-most of five early voting centers set up by the District of Columbia Board of Elections & Ethics, smack dab in the middle of what is thought to be Fenty country. This blogger trekked up to Chevy Chase, DC to take in the scene. While some Vince Gray support was evident, Fenty stickers were predominant.
Competing Gray and Fenty tables are camped out before the front entrance facing Connecticut Ave., NW. In such a fiercely contested and high profile race, almost every voter has his or her mind made up but they time they make it to the polling place. Volunteers manning these tables pass out stickers to voters who want to advertise their allegiance after they vote.
At the Fenty table, a volunteer claimed that Michelle Fenty was greeting voters at the Safeway across the street. If she had been there, the District’s First Lady was gone by the time this blogger jogged over see the spectacle.
Note the Phil Mendelson sign nestled between Vince Gray for Mayor signs at the council chair’s table.
That was the extent of the Mendelson campaign’s presence. This is curious because of all the confusion that the at-large primary contest has engendered.
Voters may already decided on Gray versus Fenty, but for down ballot races that have been overshadowed by the heavy media coverage of the mayoral contest, last minute electioneering outside a polling place can win votes. Leafleting by volunteers can be decisive. A well designed piece of campaign lit can ensure that a pithy blurb or an endorsement from a politician or union that holds sway in the community is the last thing a voter who is as-yet-undecided in that race sees before he or she enters the polling booth.
This begs the question: why has Mendelson failed to position volunteers at every entrance with literature spelling out his efforts to disabuse District Democrats that the “Michael Brown” on the ballot opposing his renomination is the white “Shadow Senator” from nearby Western Ave., NW, not the incumbent – and African-American – Independent At-Large council member? This is particularly striking considering that Mendelson has the union backing in this campaign that has provided him with valuable foot soldiers in his elections past. Neither Brown nor Clark Ray had any volunteers in sight.
Maybe some maddened Mendelson supporter had been there earlier and knocked down this lonely Michael Brown sign, but the cool breeze was the more likely culprit.
“Shadow U.S. Representative” challenger Nate Bennett-Fleming had volunteers with hand cards outside courteously informing voters’ of their man’s voting rights fervor. This presence looks like it won the Anacostia-native some votes.
Doug Sloan showed up, but had difficulty dissuading the voter below of his opponent, D.C.’s Delegate to the U.S. House, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has dropped the ball on pressing ahead with statehood with the Democrats now in control of both ends of Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
Even though some observers, and at times the candidates themselves, have decried the dearth of attention to the council chair contest, there was little evidence that the race was on. Some Vince Orange reps hesitantly offered flyers for their man. A couple of guys in Kwame Brown shirts just walked around and chatted with other candidates’ volunteers. Both candidates planted signs in nearby tree boxes. The Kwame Camp had literature on unopposed Ward 3 Council Member Mary Cheh’s table.
Two Fenty vans and one elaborately decked out Vince Orange were spotted, all with Ward 9 license plates.
This friendly volunteer confirmed that his sign was paid for by the teachers’ union.
Inside the DCBOEE staffer on the left assured all went smoothly. After checking in, voters waited in seats for voting booths to open up.
Now off to Turkey Thicket, in Ward 5, to catch a glimpse of early voting in very different District community.
