The Van, the Breakfast and the Reporter

If This Van's a Rockin…Don't Come a Knockin'

WASHINGTON - If you hadn't noticed, D.C. Council Member Kwame Brown, D-At-Large, is running for re-election. His yard signs have been scattered throughout the city for months. But now Brown has taken visibility to a new level.

He's had the family van wrapped in a huge "Re-elect Kwame Brown'08" sign. (I'm not sure why there's an apostrophe.) The bright blue GMC Van has the campaign Web site printed across the back doors. Brown thought it was a better idea than the car he drove in his first campaign. (See photos in the gallery on the left.)

"I was driving a mail truck with yard signs on the sides," Brown says.

While the van is Brown's personal car, the new paint job was paid for by his re-election campaign. Although it's easy to see why people could think the campaign paid for the van since it reads, "Paid for by the re-elect Kwame Brown Campaign" on the back.

So is it a campaign vehicle or the Council member's ride?

The van was spotted at a recent campaign rally for Barack Obama. But Brown displays his official council member license plate on the dashboard allowing him to park anywhere he wants, including right in front of City Hall on Pennsylvania Avenue. That has some of Brown's fellow Council members scratching their heads. "It's a great idea, the van is a great idea," said one of Brown's colleagues, "But parking it out in front of the Wilson Building? That's too much."

"I didn't think about that," Brown said on whether or not he found parking a campaign sign in front of City Hall appropriate.

The $96 Million Breakfast

The monthly Mayor/Council breakfast meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. At 8:35, Acting Attorney General Peter Nickles walked into the mostly empty room and questioned, "Why don't we just schedule these things for nine?" A few minutes later, Nat Gandhi, the District's CFO, walked in with the new head of the Office of Tax and Revenue, Steve Cordi. Gandhi introduced Cordi to Council Member David Catania, I-At-Large. "The most important thing is make sure people don't steal the money," Catnia told Cordi.

By 9 a.m., Democratic Mayor Adrian Fenty arrived at the table with a pile of fresh fruit on his plate, ready to start. Only six council members have arrived, but Fenty isn't waiting for a quorum. "Good morning everyone," Fenty says and the meeting is underway.

First up is Gandhi. The independent Chief Financial Officer distributes a packet of titled "revised revenue estimates." Over the past several years, these presentations have always meant surplus cash. Gandhi is famous for his overly conservative projections, but there were no smiley faces on this packet.

Over the next 10 minutes, Gandhi outlined how his projections for 2009 were going to be off because of the slumping economy; to the tune of $95.8 million. As Gandhi spoke, three more Council members made their way in. After Gandhi finished dropping the budget bomb on the nine council members, there was complete silence for several seconds. It was an awkward few seconds. It was as if what Gandhi had said wasn't sinking in. For the majority of the council members there, it was the first time they had heard the words "budget gap."

Finally, Catania asked if the shortfall could be made up through the high vacancy rates in city jobs. The answer was no. "Next topic," called the Mayor.

By 9:28, when Council member Phil Mendelson, D-At-Large, walked into the room with a plate over flowing with scrambled eggs and grits, the meeting was over. The council members spent more time talking about the Attorney General's plan to have moot courts for the lawyers arguing the gun case before the Supreme Court than the possibility of having to cut services or raise taxes. They asked more questions about how to get tickets to the Supreme Court hearing than about how the city could have a surplus one-day and a $95 million deficit the next.

Apparently,the possibility that Gandhi's message wasn't resonating with his colleagues wasn't lost on Council Chair Vince Gray, D-At-Large. Within minutes of the breakfast meeting ending, Gray called a special closed-door meeting of the Council to reiterate the bad news.

He is Sherwood after all ...

Channel 4's Tom Sherwood is first and foremost a 'Southern Gentleman.' Considered by many to be the Dean of the District reporters, he's famous for his dry wit and incredible sources. But for his fellow reporters, Sherwood can sometimes be a bit of a pain. He likes to run things like news conferences and crime scenes.

At a recent news conference at the Anacostia Metro Station Parking lot, Sherwood was in rare form. Mayor Fenty and Council member Marion Barry were announcing the Poplar Point development deal. It was cold, it was windy, and it was cold. The press had gathered, Fenty arrived, and Barry was even on time. One problem: Sherwood had gone to the wrong location and was late.

Sherwood arrived without his cameraman. Without video, the television reporter was doomed. That's when he turned on the Southern charm and asked the mayor's staff to delay a few minutes until his cameraman could get there. They agreed.

After a few minutes, the cold was getting to even Fenty. It was time to start. Sherwood intercepted the mayor as he approached the microphones and stalled while his cameraman set up.

After a few very cold minutes, "We're ready when you are Mr. Mayor," Sherwood shouted.

Just as Fenty was about to begin, some smart-ass reporter barked out, "Why the delay?"

Barry stepped up to the microphones and said, "You can't find your way out here Sherwood? You need a map? GPS?"

The crowd loved it. Quintessential Barry.

But Sherwood's wit stole the moment, "I Just followed you ... and that was quite a route."

Even Fenty couldn't keep a straight face.

Fenty then began the news conference, "Let the record reflect that the Mayor was here on time and that we were waiting on Tom Sherwood, but that's all right, we appreciate him."

Yes we do!

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