D.C. mayoral candidates introduced central issues of their campaign platforms in a debate last night at AU, and discussed improving public education, addressing the lack of affordable housing and securing voting rights for the District.
The five candidates, Michael Brown, Linda Cropp, Adrian Fenty, Marie Johns and Vincent B. Orange, Sr. met in the Kay Spiritual Center where they answered questions from the audience and a panel that included representatives from various media outlets.
Improving public education was discussed at length, as candidates identified the need to increase vocational education and also explored what safeguards should be instituted to make sure money is effectively allocated within schools.
Moderator Bruce DePuyt, a TV and radio political analyst and host of NewsTalk, challenged candidates to "give me an idea, not rhetoric," as the five debated problems with affordable housing in D.C.
Fenty advocated giving more money to local housing vouchers. Johns supported the creation of a community land trust to inventory and developing existing public property. Brown advocated creating partnerships with developers so that they can purchase land for less money and lower the price of houses. The other candidates were not given time to answer the question.
"They scurried around issues of how to bring about jobs ... to make sure D.C. is a city you can live in and survive," said Zantisha Winston, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. As a senior, Winston said that it is "too expensive" for her to live in the city after she graduates, and that high prices have forced her to look for housing in neighboring counties.
Candidates also addressed D.C. voting rights and statehood, with all agreeing that D.C. deserves both, citing presenting previous legislation or problems they participated in as evidence of their leadership skills.
"We will not rest until we have voting rights for the District of Columbia," Cropp said, regarding her petition to Congress for voting rights. Cropp helped prepare a case about voting rights that was presented to the Supreme Court, although it was ultimately referred back to Congress.
"We have to present ourselves in a way that we are ready for statehood," said Brown, saying he would focus on improving D.C. to show lawmakers that D.C. deserves its rights.
The candidates clashed when DePuyt asked whether they would spend city funds to lobby the federal government money for D.C statehood, an act that is illegal.
"I don't think it would help our cause to spend money illegally," Johns said, saying she would not use district funds.
Fenty said that the federal law prohibiting the use of district funds was superceded by the Constitution, saying "there is no way I'm going to stand by."
An underlying theme to the debate was the division between the "haves" and "have-nots" in the District and how this division changes the value of education, police response to crime and other city issues.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council of AU coordinated the debate.
"It came about by complete accident," said NPHC president Ashley Futrell, a senior in the School of Public Affairs. Futrell said that while organizing an event for Black History Month, her organization was able to attract the different mayoral candidates to speak.
"We came together and realized this could be a debate," said Futrell.
Futrell said she was thrilled with the final outcome, noting the panelists asked relevant questions and that attendance was excellent.
"It was an incredibly well put together event," said Mary Crom, a senior in the School of International Service. "It was really interesting overall"
