By Aaron C. Davis
David Catania, the city’s Republican-turned-Independent who is running for mayor, has embarked on a make-or-break campaign strategy to appeal to Democrats, who are three-fourths of D.C. voters. Here are five reasons he has a chance to make the city’s mayoral contest the most competitive general election in D.C. history:
John and Margaret “Peggy” Richardson
The prominent Democratic attorney, who was a member of former Mayor Anthony Williams’s administration, and his wife, former President Bill Clinton’s IRS commissioner, held a meet-and-greet Thursday night for more than 40 people at their apartment in D.C. and most ended up contributing to Catania’s campaign, said John Richardson. “I don’t think party affiliation means nearly as much as the local level as at the national level.” The last local(ish) candidate the two helped elect? Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D).
Danica Petroshius
Chief of staff to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Petroshius says Catania will be her first-ever vote for a non-Democrat. The reason: Her two young children attend a D.C. public school on Capitol Hill. “Schools are my number one issue,” said Petroshius, who also opened her home this week for Catania and found many leaving with “Democrats for David!” signs. “I don’t see a lot of misalignment for me on the issues. It’s more important that the city has the right person running it than having the party running it – and I say that as a longtime Democrat.”
Read the full article here.