Information About Past Elections: 2004

by Jason Broehm

(Article appeared in the November 2004 edition of the Capital Sierran.)

In the primary election on September 14, Democratic challengers defeated three veteran members of the D.C. Council and went on to win those seats in the general election in November. Kwame Brown, whom the Sierra Club endorsed, decisively beat Councilmember Harold Brazil (D-At Large) in all eight wards. Brown will become the first at-large councilmember to reside east of the Anacostia River.

In Ward 7, Vincent Gray defeated Councilmember Kevin Chavous (D-Ward 7), a long-standing champion of the local environment and a Sierra Club ally on a range of issues over the years. After Chavous’s primary defeat, however, the Sierra Club endorsed Gray in the general election based on the strength of his environmental platform.

Marion Barry staged yet another political comeback, handily beating Councilmember Sandy Allen (D-Ward 8) and returning to the Ward 8 seat he had held earlier in his career.

The Sierra Club endorsed incumbent Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) in the Republican primary and the general election, and she easily won re-election. As chair of the D.C. Council’s Public Works and the Environment Committee, Schwartz has championed a number of the Sierra Club’s priorities over the years.

In Ward 2, the Sierra Club endorsed Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), and he was re-elected by a comfortable margin. Evans has been a strong and steady supporter of the full range of the Sierra Club’s issues, notably saving Klingle Valley and expanding recreational use of Beach Drive in Rock Creek National Park.

The Sierra Club made no endorsement in Ward 4 where Councilmember Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) faced no opponent in the primary or general elections.