Brown Folds His Tent
It was, some said, a most ironic moment: the first time the media really paid attention to mayoral candidate Michael Brown was the day he quit the race. This afternoon, in front of his headquarters near the convention center, Brown bowed out and endorsed Linda Cropp. He also announced he would keep on campaigning through next Tuesday, only now he would be "wearing red instead of yellow" and pushing Cropp's candidacy. Cropp's husband Dwight was on hand, along with a three-piece band composed of perhaps Brown's top constituency: teens.
Frankly, it's unclear how many votes Cropp will pick up with Brown's support, since many of his most loyal are under age and can't vote. 
Brown said he is helping organize a hip-hop concert Saturday afternoon that is intended to spread the word that people should vote -- for Cropp. Among his most consistent campaign questions to audiences was: "Does anyone here like go-go?" And he would usually follow that by noting that he has organized go-go summits to help teens talk out issues and get politcally motivated. At 41, he championed "old-school" values, but his platform was light about how to get there, which is perhaps one reason his message never really gained steam. In the end, he said he would focus on getting out the vote in Wards 5, 7 and 8 -- three areas in which Cropp hopes to beat Fenty. The band played on as Brown and his wife and Cropp and her staff headed their separate ways.
By David Nakamura |
September 7, 2006; 4:30 PM ET
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Posted by: SonyaSK | September 7, 2006 05:19 PM
I think Sonya SK is 100% correct. Brown supporters are too anti-establishment and too anti-baseball stadium to move to Cropp. I would expect more of a split between Fenty and Johns with a handful for Cropp and the remainder staying home.
Posted by: frankz05 | September 7, 2006 05:51 PM
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This is OK press for Cropp (boy does she need it!), but I really can't see Brown's voter's going for the quintessential establishment candidate. Cropp represents everything Brown seemed to be against --the old and inefficient ways of doing government that promoted the powerful over the weak.
I think Fenty will be the beneficiary here, given his commitment to streamline government, make affordable housing more available, and demand drastic improvements in our schools.