Sam Brooks for DC Council, Ward 3

Young Professional's Event

Last night’s Young Professionals fundraiser was a huge success. With forty people in attendance, everyone enjoyed some refreshing beverages, cheese, crackers, and homemade cheese cake. Sam’s message of bringing real proactive solutions to real challenges facing Ward 3 and the District continued to resonate throughout the community. Although it began to rain late into the event, spirits were not dampened as everyone huddled under balconies around the courtyard and continued to mingle. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Today Sam has been preparing for tonight’s Washington Post Radio – News Channel 8 debate, but managed to find some time to run to Chicken Out – a new find that we are quickly making a regular into our office lunch rotation. Make sure to check out the debate tonight at 7PM on 107.7FM or 1500AM or on News Channel 8 Monday at 1PM and 10PM.

News from the Campaign Trail

Two big events have gone on at the Brooks campaign in the last week. Last Thursday our good friends Ed Blount and David Lanier hosted the latest in a series of meet and greets at their home with about thirty Ward 3 voters, including community leaders, a former Congressman, and friendly residents from Cleveland Park. Sam answered questions on a variety of topics, including the future of Tenleytown Library, prudent development, and his new ideas to bring real change to DC public school policy. Everyone enjoyed some great refreshments as Sam talked about his innovative style of leadership to move Ward 3 forward.

Last night Sam headed to Ben’s Chili Bowl once again for August’s DC for Democracy event. After enjoying a few hot dogs and mingling with the handful of candidates in attendance, the members of DC for Democracy held their endorsement vote. Sam blew away the field of 8 other Ward 3 candidates. Sam won 58 percent of the vote, with the second place candidate 44 points behind! After the vote Sam said, “This is confirmation of what I am seeing and hearing in the community. Residents are ready for a new brand of ideas, energy and leadership on the council. This overwhelming response is obviously a sign our campaign is resonating. There is no question we’re gaining momentum.”

Tonight Sam will head to a Young Professionals Event hosted by Darden Copeland and Melanie Hudson. Make sure to check back tomorrow for a full report of tonight’s event!

The past week has been very busy here at the Brooks 2006 campaign headquarters. Between sign waving at intersections, knocking on doors, making countless phone calls, and conducting several meet-and-greets, it’s no small feat we’ve had time to make it to Cold Stone Creamery three times in the last week. (There’s no better way to beat the heat than an Oreo Overload ice cream!)

In recent days, we have also enjoyed the plugs from our friends Matt Lewis at Campaign Leadership and Ron Gunzburger at Politics1.com (Politics1 is a must-visit website for any political-junkie; even with the campaign, Sam visits the site five times a day.) And, speaking of other websites and online advocacy, if you haven’t joined our facebook group yet, make sure to check it out!

Parades, Door Knocking, and Hot Dogs: A Week in Review

The Sam Brooks campaign continues to be in full swing. Despite the 95 degree weather, the Brooks 2006 team was out Tuesday morning for the Palisades 4^th of July Day Parade -- handing out literature to the crowd and throwing candy to the kids. Before the parade, as the interns decorated the car and people milled about, Sam did what he usually does when there’s a lull in the action: He knocked on doors. After the parade, Sam went to talk to more residents of Ward 3 at the Palisades Picnic...and to munch on a few hot dogs.

The rest of the week was full of events for the campaign. On Wednesday, after filing petitions to qualify for the September Primary, Sam decided he hadn’t had enough hot dogs on Tuesday, and headed to Ben’s Chili Bowl. Well, the draw wasn’t only a half-smoke with chili – it was the latest DC for the Democracy ‘meet-up.’ There, Sam talked about his agenda for change for the District, and why he thinks his campaign would be a perfect fit for this organization – which grew from Howard Dean’s Presidential Campaign.

On Thursday, Sam celebrated the cooler weather by spending most of the afternoon and evening knocking on doors in Cleveland Park with Kendall, while Alexis took breaks from spraying our office with Febreze long enough to finish up our daily calls. Later that night, Sam attended the DC Democratic State Committee meeting, on which he’s now served for more than a year and a half, and where he continues to help lead the fight for full DC voting rights.

We're Back!

The Brooks 2006 blog is back - now with a more consistent update of news from the campaign. My name is Mike McLaughlin. Having grown up in Prince William County, I have worked on a handful of local races and now attend Seton Hall University as an International Relations and Political Science Major. I joined the Brooks team in May and I'll be responsible for updating the blog with news from the campaign each week and interesting stories we pick up along the campaign trail, in addition to helping out with our daily canvassing operations. From time to time, Sam, and Mike, our campaign manager, will also add their thoughts to the blog. If you find anything newsworthy or would like to see a discussion on a particular issue, feel free to email me at Michael@brooks2006.com and I will do my best to get it up on the website. We hope that you'll continue to check in often to keep up with the Brooks team. Thanks for your continued support.

Inaction on the blog

A quick word about the lack of action on this blog. Over the past several weeks, I have begun to put together what I hope will be an exciting and comprehensive policy agenda for Ward 3. This is a tall task, however, and one that is taking considerable time and effort.

In the next week, we will release the first of roughly ten sections of the platform. It will be available in full on www.brooks2006.com, with perhaps some side commentary here on the blog.

In the meantime, I encourage you to look back through some of the posts over the last few months. I hope each has given some insight into my values – and the ways in which I will lead and legislate when elected to the DC Council.

Slot Machines in DC? Absolutely Not

One of the backers of the 2004 drive to bring thousands of slot machines to the District of Columbia is ready to try again. According to a story today in the Washington Post, “A gambling promoter from the U.S. Virgin Islands is launching a fresh attempt to legalize slot machines in the nation's capital, filing requests yesterday with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to put the issue on the November ballot.” (Read the story here.)

City leaders should use their bully pulpit to promptly denounce the effort – beginning with an immediate Sense of the Council Resolution in opposition to slot machines in the District of Columbia (similar to one introduced in 2004) – and I hope others will join with me in vowing to campaign against this initiative if it makes it onto the November ballot.

An Example of Excessive Spending

In the previous post, I described my concern with recent budgets in broad terms. As mentioned, with nearly a 30 percent increase over the last two years,  I think we’ve seen an over-extension in some areas of DC’s budget. With this post, I'll outline a specific agency, with specific expenditures, that saw a 29 percent budget increase (in local funds spent) in FY 2006:

The Executive Office of the Mayor – an agency with stellar staff and from which some spectacular achievements emerge – has a bloated budget. It tells the tale of only a small sliver of the District’s overall expenditures, but it's an illuminating example of waste that speaks to specific ways in which more stringent Council oversight could ensure more prudent budgeting. 

At the onset, it’s helpful to give some context for the agency’s $13,454,544 budget. Mayors in parallel cities of Denver, Sacramento and Boston spend $1.7, $2.5, and $9 million, respectively, on their equivalent of the “Executive Office of the Mayor.” The budget for the "Office of the Governor" in Washington state is about $4.5 million annually, while the Governor of Virginia spends roughly $3.5 million.

Some Thoughts on DC's Budget

Our city has made great strides to strengthen our fiscal status in recent years. Our bond rating is as high as it's been since the inception of home rule. We have hundreds of millions of dollars in cash reserves. Balanced budgets, not deficits, are a foregone conclusion. This is enormous progress, and something for which city leaders deserve ample credit.

But recent years have also brought shortsighted budgeting. In the last several years, city revenues have been propped up by an incredible rise in property values, fueled by a remarkable housing market. The problem is, our budget growth has matched the inevitably unsustainable revenue increases generated, in large part, from this housing bubble.

In fiscal year 2006, the District government budgeted $4.95 billion in local funds – an 18.7 percent increase over the $4.17 billion spent in fiscal year 2005. This comes on the heels of a 9% increase in 2005, and leaves us with an overall budget (including federal funds) of $7.35 billion.

There is good reason to believe this current budget is overextended.

Keep the Whitehurst Freeway

One of the themes of my term in office will be an unwavering desire to create a more open and participatory government. I know we shouldn’t come to an issue with pre-determined agendas, knee-jerk reactions, or a willingness to make decisions behind closed doors. To this end, I will work to be a hands-on Councilmember who brings residents, neighborhoods, and groups together to deal with our common concerns. There’s simply no better way – particularly with an issue that deals with transit or development.

Yet there are some issues on which the public record is clear, and where the residents, neighborhoods, and interested parties have shared their thoughts and concerns. On those issues, it’s up to elected officials to show leadership and fight for the most prudent course of action.

With respect to the Whitehurst Freeway and its proposed deconstruction, the record is now quite clear. My position as Councilmember would be equally clear: We should keep the Whitehurst Freeway.