Homeless Mayor In DC: A Real, If Distant, Possibility
As I sat in a DC McDonald's at 14th and U streets nw around noon today clogging my arteries with a McChicken (Big Mac sauce added) and a small fry, I was approached by a man who was holding his phone out and swiveling his arm back and forth while telling myself and other patrons "I'm in the paper; I'm running for mayor". I asked "What day???". He said, "Five days ago". Noticing my interest in what he was saying, he then stopped in front of me and let me read part of the article. As I perused it, he introduced himself as Jeremiah and gave me an arm bump, before moving on to others. I then found THIS ARTICLE on my phone and learned that my sense that he might be homeless was in fact correct. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he'd gathered at least 1,400 of the 2,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot, with the deadline for declaring his candidacy being five days hence on March 21st. Jeremiah Stanback actually has a fighting chance -- at getting on the ballot.
The article mentions other "fringe candidates" which include a former U.S. Marshal who did a 10-year prison stint for manslaughter and a disbarred lawyer. It's easy to blow this article off as conveying a bit of light-hearted humor at the start of a pivotal campaign season which promises to be marked by political fatigue and expressions of distrust in government -- the same type of political fatigue and distrust that enabled Muriel E. Bowser to win the 2014 Democratic Primary (our de facto election) with 42,045 votes from less than 10% of the city's 450,000 registered voters that year. However, many Americans (including Donald Trump) thought that Donald Trump couldn't win -- until he did.
So, let's not be too quick to say what can't happen. Besides, DC has some 145,000 people on food stamps -- more that three times the number of people that voted for Bowser in April 2014. Add to that the fact that her second mayoral primary occurs in June -- the month AFTER the results of the annual homeless count are published -- with the April 2014 primary having occurred the month BEFORE. If we learn that Ms. Bowser (who ran on a platform that had addressing homelessness as its centerpiece) has actually done poorly in that respect, then it might not bid well for her candidacy. Furthermore, she might be defeated by a long-shot homeless candidate. Truth is stranger than fiction.
Political fatigue and avoiding the polls gave our nation's capital a mayor who was only supported by 9% of the electorate (in the all-important primary). The same article (along with several others that I've read in recent weeks) also highlights the fact that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser lacks any true competition in the primary with only five days left to declare, which speaks to the fact that the political fatigue and distrust in government that swept Ms. Bowser into office still persists more than three years into her term. What's more is that DC voters might decide to stick with the devil they know and she might win the June 2018 primary with even less votes -- unless Mr. Stanback campaigns near the food stamp (SNAP) offices and other social service offices.
As I sit back and ponder the way that local homeless politics have played out over the last four years, I repeatedly think to myself, "You can't make this stuff up". An eight-year old girl is abducted from the family shelter in early 2014. There is a public outcry about the lack of safety and the other poor conditions at the shelter. A mayoral candidate promises to fix the problems that led to the abduction and presumed death -- to make DC homelessness "rare-brief and non-recurring". The distressed property sits on valuable land which developers have sought for over a decade. The caring candidate of 2014 has become the uncaring incumbent candidate of 2018 who is willing to endanger the homeless children that she claimed to want to protect four years prior. She may soon have to face off with a homeless person. We might soon learn that her plan around homelessness has not worked all that well. The next mayor of DC might be someone who exits homelessness as a result of defeating an incumbent who failed colossally at her pet project of addressing homelessness. Things that make you go "Hmmm".
Now to reconnect with Jeremiah Stanback and offer him some advice on where to garner support.
The article mentions other "fringe candidates" which include a former U.S. Marshal who did a 10-year prison stint for manslaughter and a disbarred lawyer. It's easy to blow this article off as conveying a bit of light-hearted humor at the start of a pivotal campaign season which promises to be marked by political fatigue and expressions of distrust in government -- the same type of political fatigue and distrust that enabled Muriel E. Bowser to win the 2014 Democratic Primary (our de facto election) with 42,045 votes from less than 10% of the city's 450,000 registered voters that year. However, many Americans (including Donald Trump) thought that Donald Trump couldn't win -- until he did.
So, let's not be too quick to say what can't happen. Besides, DC has some 145,000 people on food stamps -- more that three times the number of people that voted for Bowser in April 2014. Add to that the fact that her second mayoral primary occurs in June -- the month AFTER the results of the annual homeless count are published -- with the April 2014 primary having occurred the month BEFORE. If we learn that Ms. Bowser (who ran on a platform that had addressing homelessness as its centerpiece) has actually done poorly in that respect, then it might not bid well for her candidacy. Furthermore, she might be defeated by a long-shot homeless candidate. Truth is stranger than fiction.
Political fatigue and avoiding the polls gave our nation's capital a mayor who was only supported by 9% of the electorate (in the all-important primary). The same article (along with several others that I've read in recent weeks) also highlights the fact that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser lacks any true competition in the primary with only five days left to declare, which speaks to the fact that the political fatigue and distrust in government that swept Ms. Bowser into office still persists more than three years into her term. What's more is that DC voters might decide to stick with the devil they know and she might win the June 2018 primary with even less votes -- unless Mr. Stanback campaigns near the food stamp (SNAP) offices and other social service offices.
As I sit back and ponder the way that local homeless politics have played out over the last four years, I repeatedly think to myself, "You can't make this stuff up". An eight-year old girl is abducted from the family shelter in early 2014. There is a public outcry about the lack of safety and the other poor conditions at the shelter. A mayoral candidate promises to fix the problems that led to the abduction and presumed death -- to make DC homelessness "rare-brief and non-recurring". The distressed property sits on valuable land which developers have sought for over a decade. The caring candidate of 2014 has become the uncaring incumbent candidate of 2018 who is willing to endanger the homeless children that she claimed to want to protect four years prior. She may soon have to face off with a homeless person. We might soon learn that her plan around homelessness has not worked all that well. The next mayor of DC might be someone who exits homelessness as a result of defeating an incumbent who failed colossally at her pet project of addressing homelessness. Things that make you go "Hmmm".
Now to reconnect with Jeremiah Stanback and offer him some advice on where to garner support.
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