Results tagged “election”

We've written about the sizzling drama inside the Cleveland Park Citizens Association before, and now the Ward3DC blog reports that the "UNITY" slate, headed by longtime resident John Chelen, has been declared the winner of Tuesday's election. Chelen replaces long-serving president George Idelson, the man who was ridiculed by local media earlier this year for accusing new members of CPCA, drawn to join due to the endless bickering over the Wisconsin Ave. Giant grocery store plans, among other development issues, of attempting a coup. Idelson eventually chose not to run again, leaving Jeff Davis and his "Reform" slate to oppose Chelen.

Over the long weekend, DCist spotted the first yard sign we've seen so far for D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's re-election campaign. This sign, with its trademark Fenty green, was planted in front of a home in the Logan Circle neighborhood. We've also seen a few blue and white Clark Ray for D.C. Council At-large signs popping up outside businesses in the Dupont Circle neighborhood's 17th Street corridor.

We all know that democracy is about competition and participation, but D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) must be wondering why he keeps getting challengers for his seat.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is running for re-election, and so far no viable candidate has formally declared an intent to run against the incumbent (though there are plenty of rumors about At-large D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown). A story from the Examiner today may help persuade someone to step to the plate sooner rather than later, however. A recent poll conducted by D.C.-based Successful Capital Strategies shows that six in ten District Democrats would be "open" to voting for someone other than Fenty in the next election.

For those of you who grew so weary of Michael A. Brown's incessant robocalling and significant paper trail, well, you can't say that the D.C. GOP isn't on your side -- even if its motives are slightly different.

As everyone from here to Kerguelen knows, there was a historic election in America on Tuesday. Appropriately, a lot of the overheards sent in by our valiant overhearers are political in nature. But other than Mark Russell, no one can live on political humor alone (and Capitol Steps doesn't count as humor), so there's some non-political stuff, too.

While most of the focus south of the District has been on whether or not Barack Obama can carry the state of Virginia, the electoral fervor north of D.C. has been about slot machines. With good reason: this morning's Post notes that while some polls referendum which would legalize slot machine gambling in Maryland passing easily, others have the referendum stuck squarely between the margin of error. Even though slots supporters have about seven times the amount of funds as anti-slotters, the race -- even at this advanced date -- is about as unpredictable as it gets. If the motion wins, supporters claim that tax revenues from slot machines would alleviate a big chunk of Maryland's $1.7 billion budget deficit. Those who oppose the measure - like Stop Slots Maryland - claim the usual anti-gambling talking points: that financial gains from slots would be smaller than thought and offset by the costs in fighting higher crime and addiction rates. Expect this race to go all night on Tuesday.

The first installment of a two-part post previewing D.C.'s race for the newly reconfigured Board of Education. Check DCist tomorrow for the second half, including a complete rundown of the candidates.

The chattering classes have put the so-called Bradley effect front and center, asking what kind of dent it could potentially put in Barack Obama's campaign for the Presidency. Few people can speak about the effects of race on voting with more knowledge than former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, who claims that he was the victim of a similar trend when he campaigned for the governor's office almost 20 years ago. In a long profile in the Washington Post, Wilder admits that he believes his race almost cost him dearly in his tightly contested victory over Republican Marshall Coleman in 1989 -- a race in which the margin of victory for Wilder was less than one half of one percent. From the Post piece:

We brought it to your attention this morning, but in case you're a visual learner, flickr contributor DC Metrocentric brings forth visual proof of the long lines at the Courthouse voting location. If you're out and waiting in line, feel free to document your experiences and send them to us.

On Election Day Eve's Eve's Eve, thoughts turn toward the future in all its possibilities. Will Barack Obama reshape progressive politics by sweeping the swing states? Will John McCain turn the corner and surprise the pundits with a victory? Will the whole thing take days or months to sort out, in a repeat of 2000? Will Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury declaration prove true come Wednesday? The American Presidential election offers no shortage of prognosticative possibilities for the chin-scratcher, from the straight and narrow analytics of Real Clear Politics to lefty or righty slants.

Commenter UrsusMajeure checks in with us this morning with an update on today's early voting lines in Arlington:

On Tuesday, the D.C. Council agreed unanimously that retirement benefits should be extended to domestic partners of the city’s retired police officers and firefighters. The move brings marriage equality in the District a step closer to fruition, according to the Examiner.

       

This election season, the electorate is hungry for change. Or perhaps we’re just hungry. As the presidential campaign enters its home stretch, area bars and restaurants are rolling out election-themed eats and drinks. Around town you can eat a sushi roll or hamburger that represents your favorite candidate; drink a martini that represents your true political color; watch a debate while dining on Undecider Sliders and sipping an On The Fence martini. While seasoned campaigners know that true election eats more closely resemble donuts, cold pizza, and stale beer, you members of the Washington elite may toast your status with a Blue Donkey or Red Elephant.

Let's face it -- a local election in an off year and in the midst of a heated presidential campaign won't attract much attention, much less lots of voters. And tomorrow's District primary likely isn't much of an exception.

Last night I was flipping through the cable news channels in order to live-blog the Potomac Primary results, and as you'll see if you follow that link and scroll down toward after the 9 p.m. mark, something was amiss with the District's election returns. More than an hour after the polls closed, there was zero data from any of D.C.'s 142 precincts available from any major news outlet. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer even mentioned on-air that D.C.'s results were coming in "very, very slowly."

Though the map may appear as if Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) did well in many Northwest neighborhoods, she only managed to keep Obama under 60 percent of the vote in ten precincts. Her strongest showing was Precinct 3, the neighborhood including the Watergate, some G.W. housing, and the Foggy Bottom Historic District; but she still lost to Obama in a 275-243 vote.

It looks like what Mayor Fenty told our reporter about high voter turnout in the District was spot on: Unofficial results from the DCBOEE show that about 38 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the city, which is both the highest of any presidential primary in 20 years, and higher than the turnout for Mayor Fenty's defeat of Linda Cropp in 2006's mayoral primary.

The Associated Press is reporting that the Virginia State Board of Elections has received over 400 calls already this morning from confused voters wondering why their polling places are closed today. Some folks were apparently unaware that Virginia's Republican and Democratic primaries are being held Feb. 12, a week from today, along with Maryland and D.C.

The last time the District held a presidential primary, in 2004, they scheduled it first in the country, before even Iowa or New Hampshire, in an attempt to bring more publicity to the D.C. voting rights movement. But in order to get permission from the Democratic party to do so, the primary was classified as "non-binding", which led many of the leading candidates to drop out of the D.C. primary since it didn't matter. Howard Dean, the only viable Democratic candidate on the ballot in D.C. that year, ended up winning with 43 percent of the votes, with the Rev. Al Sharpton coming in with the best results he ever has, in second place, with 34 percent. Of course, D.C.'s delegates at the Democratic convention ended up going 47 percent for Sen. John Kerry anyway, since they weren't bound to honor the votes of the citizens they represented.

Now that the 2008 presidential primary season has officially begun, it's time to make sure you're registered to vote. The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia will all hold their presidential primaries on Feb. 12, which means voter registration deadlines are looming.

Good morning, Washington. It turns out that House Pages don't need lecherous congressmen's help to make scandalous headlines: two have just gotten busted for inappropriate behavior in a House elevator. They've been dismissed, bringing the year's total fired pages to five — two others were caught shoplifting, and one was booted for fighting. Needless to say, it looks like the program — the oversight of which has been in turmoil — will be getting...

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did...

Good morning, Washington. The city is still reeling from the news that the U.S. Attorney's Office has indicted two employees from the District's Office of Tax and Revenue on charges of embezzling over $16 million. It's a staggering sum, and the Post cites officials who are calling it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. The two women, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus, are said to have used the money...

Good morning, Washington. Make it to the polls yesterday? If so, we hope you did so before the sun went down — it got cold in a hurry last night, as the area rapidly moved from warmer-than-usual temps to colder-than-usual ones. CapitalWeather is saying that the weekend should be warmer, at least. Election 2007: The results are in, and it looks like it was a good night for Virginia's Democrats. The Dems picked up...

Now is the time of year when we all get to start complaining about how stupid standard time is and how walking out of our offices last night into pitch black darkness was weird and uncomfortable and made us confused about what time happy hour was supposed to start. That is all. 'Fat Gap' Between Whites and Blacks in D.C. High: We've certainly talked about the income gap between whites and blacks in our city...

Good morning, Washington. It's Friday, and the city is still reacting to yesterday afternoon's announcement about how our new taxi meters are going to work. We already told you about the $4 flag drop, which many people are already saying is too high, and the fact that taxi roof lights will go on and off automatically to indicate whether a cab has a passenger, which everyone seems to agree is long overdue. One more thing...

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist...

Good morning, Washington. It looks like California's still on fire, and likely to remain so. Most versions of the aforelinked AP story include the phrase "firefighters all but concede defeat," and the Post is calling the resulting evacuation the largest in modern history. It all sounds pretty grim. Good luck, West Coast. Yet More Stadium Parking Controversy: The Post reports on the latest in a seemingly neverending series of deliberations over parking at the...

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has decided not to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) next year. The Post is reporting that Davis will announce formally on Thursday what his plans are, but sources have indicated that he won't look to take on a number of potential Republican contenders or former Governor Mark Warner for the seat. Davis reportedly doesn't want his run to overshadow a tough re-election contest faced by...