Sunday, brunch time, ducking into Adams Morgan mainstay Asylum for its first rate brunch, sworn by carnivores and vegans alike, I did a double take. Yes, that “thirty-something” guy, dressed down and looking smart in aviators, strolling along alone was indeed D.C. Council Member Sekou Biddle, the incumbent appointed to Kwame Brown’s old at-large seat by the D.C. Democratic State Committee. Biddle would be facing D.C. voters in just over a week, seeking a full term.
Where was he coming from? He’d just been to church. Where? Had he been invited to address the flock from the pulpit of one of the District’s famously vote-rich historically African-America congregations? He’d been to his chief of staff’s place of worship, on gentrifying Barrack’s Row in Southeast, off of Capitol Hill in Ward 6. He was taking some personal time for reflection, he noted.
Where was he headed? The Council Member was coy. To get a bite to eat. Where? Would he be patronizing one of Adams Morgan’s bustling brunch destinations, full of potential voters? Yep, but he hadn’t decided on where yet.
Biddle was kind enough to scramble for his campaign staff’s contact info. And then he headed off, down 18th St., NW.
It occurred to me: this is the home turf of one of his opponents in that special election. Until last November, Bryan Weaver had represented these blocks on Adams Morgan’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C. Weaver, who came up short in a spirited primary challenge to Ward One Council Member Jim Graham last September, has been gaining some traction in this race among young, white, earnest, bicycling crowd, the folks out brunching that day.
These were the sort of people recently bemoaned in the WaPo to Biddle’s embarrassment by his then-campaign advisor, veteran DC election operative Marshall Brown, Kwame’s pops: “the new white voters” who “want doggie parks and bike lanes,” here in their native element in “their little cafes.” They weren’t coming from church.
On my way out, I spied Biddle, brunching on the patio of Adams Morgan restaurant Grand Central with…Bryan Weaver.
What could they be discussing? Biddle never responded to an email inquiry. Weaver deflected. He quipped: “Other than NBA playoffs?”
It could be nothing, as those who are downplaying the Vince Gray-Sulaimon Brown affair who insist that opposing campaigns are in touch constantly throughout the course of an election.
Or, there could be more to it.
As Biddle reminded attendees at the Loose Lips candidate forum last week, he grew up in nearby Mount Pleasant, where his yard signs are out in force. Biddle and Weaver do seem do to overlap in their potential appeal to voters around this part of town.
Were they discussing a tactical alliance? Are there plans for post-special collaboration in the works? If we hear from either campaign, we’ll update.
