Hoya Staff Writer Friday, September 8, 2006

Dressed in green, bearing posters and lawn signs, supporters of Councilman Adrian Fenty gathered near Howard University Sunday to rally for the man they hope will be Washington, D.C.’s next mayor. Meanwhile, Council Chair Linda Cropp took to the streets of D.C. to shake hands and connect with voters, hoping make some new supporters of her own. With Tuesday’s primary in D.C. fast approaching, the campaign trail is only expected to heat up. Given the District’s strong Democratic tilt, the winner of the Democratic contest is almost certain to be elected Washington’s next mayor in November. Fenty and Cropp have emerged as frontrunners among the Democratic field. A poll released by WUSE on Aug. 29 showed Fenty leading Cropp, 45 to 35 percent. Councilman Vincent Orange (GRD ’88) and Marie Johns, a former CEO of Verizon Washington. Around 700 students at Georgetown are D.C. residents an eligible to vote in Tuesday’s primaries. But Linda Greenan, the university’s assistant vice president for external relations, said that the entire university community would feel the impact of the outcome. While Georgetown is not making an endorsement in the election, the university “will maintain its strong relationship with the city” regardless of the outcome, Greenan said. Already, some prominent issues on Georgetown’s campus have emerged as key issues in the election – most notably, the spate of violent crimes this summer that prompted Metropolitan Police Department Chief Charles Ramsey to declare a crime emergency. Although Cropp supported the emergency crime bill passed this summer, which added police officers and surveillance cameras and broadened the city’s juvenile curfew, but thinks additional steps must be taken to address crime in the long term, said Ron Eckstein, her communications director. “Linda saw those things and said, `OK, but I want to focus on prevention also,'” Eckstein said. Eckstein said that Cropp wants to more aggressively pursue initiatives like gang intervention and job training that will help prevent crime for years to come. Fenty was the only Council member who did not vote for the emergency crime bill, calling the bill a “feel-good measure.” He has said that more police accountability will help reduce crime. Fenty, who has served on the Council since 2000, has also pledged to improve the city’s public school system. He said that the mayor must have more control over the city school system, which currently operates independently of the Mayor’s office. “We can turn around the school system,” Fenty said at a rally. “The Mayor’s got to have more control in the schools.” Residents in the Georgetown area also mentioned crime as a leading issue in the primary. Dan Wederburn, a T Street resident who attended a Fenty campaign rally Sunday, said that preventing crime should not require radical changes. “I would like to see more visible police. Streets are not lit,” he said. Brett Clements (COL ’07), who represents most of the university campus on the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said that Cropp is best suited to protect students from crime. Cropp “has been involved in safety issues much longer than Fenty,” Clements said. “She is really good at finding consensus.” Clements also referred to Cropp’s long experience as a city council member. “Fenty is flashier,” he said. “But in terms of substance, Cropp is more knowledgeable.” One of the area’s most prominent politicians agrees. Councilman Jack Evans, whose ward includes Georgetown, said that he is endorsing Cropp because of her experience and leadership skills. “She knows how the city runs,” he said. “She has been a big part of putting the city in shape that it is now.” But Beth Solomon, who organized a recent local rally for Fenty, said that she is voting for Fenty because he has a good sense of commitment and responsibility. “Adrian is a young, responsible person who can reach out to young people,” she said. “He is inspiring.”