The campaign of at-large D.C. Council Member Sekou Biddle in in full swing. The incumbent – appointed to fill now-Council Chair Kwame Brown’s (D) seat in January by the D.C. Democratic State Committee – will defend his seat in April’s special election.
Biddle’s bright orange signs can already be seen dotting yards along Irving St., NW up on Mount Pleasant in Ward One. The signs do the trick and do catch the the eye of passengers in the vehicles speeding along that well-traveled route. They stand out with their orange color and “sekou” all in undercase lettering and “BIDDLE” in all caps. The orange color may or may not be a taunt for Vincent Orange, the former Ward 5 council member and DNC national committeeman whom he bested after five ballots in the DCDSC’s vote. Throughout Orange’s runs in Ward 5 and citywide over the decades his signs have stood out for showing off various shades and schemes of the color that also serves as his surname.
Biddle’s yard signs and campaign advertisements, that he’s already running weekly across from the editorial page in The Current newspapers (see p. 9 of pdf), are also noteworthy for what they don’t feature: the word “Democrat.”
Yes, some commentators, including DCist’s Martin Austermuhle and WaPo’s editorial board, have decried that the fact Biddle’s appointment fell to the District’s Democratic Party apparatchiks, but a stamp of approval by D.C. Democrats’ official governing body is more of an asset than a liability to many voters in this near-monolithic town. Remember the yawn that greeted D.C. labor boss Joslyn Williams’ taunting of District Republicans in a pre-November “Democratic unity” rally? (“This is one-city owned by Democrats…You’re welcome to pay your taxes, but you’re not welcome to govern the city.”) A big chunk of District Democrats agreed, and many of those turn out faithfully, even in special elections, when reminded by D.C. Dems’ GOTV efforts.
On April’s ballot, multiple candidates from any party will appear on the ballot, with their partisan affiliation listed next to their names. Biddle will not be the only Democrat.
A new name to much of the District electorate, voters in Wards 3 and 4 have seen Biddle’s name on the ballot, but for the non-partisan school board races. So, why wouldn’t Biddle wrap himself in mantle of the “official” Democratic candidate, the only Democrat in the special election endorsed by District of Columbia Democratic State Committee. (After voting to appoint Biddle to the seat, and then moving to endorse him for the special election, the committee voted to donate $1000 to his already overflowing campaign coffers.)
In a District where the Republican label has become more repugnant than ever to almost all sectors of the electorate, being seen as the “official” Democrat can only be of help if the storyline of the contest does come down to a “two way” race between Biddle and the only GOP entry. With multiple Democrats on the ballot, Biddle can scare D.C. Democrats into coalescing around him to “keep the Republicans out.”
Will Biddle embrace the Democratic label, not just the open arms of the District’s elected Democratic establishment? The old ethos of bi-/non-partisanism has evaporated among most of the educated, affluent classes that once clung to that notion. How many Ward 3 “goo-goo” types does Biddle really fear he will lose if, say Fentyite Josh Lopez, or (horrors!) openly Republican Patrick Mara, try to hang the “party hack” albatross around his neck? Surely not enough that it would offset by the votes he could win that offering a small piece of information to busy voters who have been able to gather little information about this low profile special election.
