Well, Doug Sloan has withdrawn from the Ward 4 race for Council. An email went out from him just a little while ago stating that the race should be about what's best for the Ward, not who has the most money or the blessings of the administration. He feels he should withdraw in order to decrease the number of candidates and give someone else a fighting chance. That leaves 11 candidates now... more to come?

Here's the gist of the email:

"We need one voice to emerge from the crowd. I would like to be that voice, I want to serve and stand up for the city that I love so much, but staying in this race will not allow me to do that. If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. So I am doing what I think is the mature thing to do and withdraw my candidacy from this race."

Here's his official statement from his website: http://bit.ly/1CIfIzn

Full email below:

"Running for office should not be about the candidates, but about the voters. Often these campaigns are portrayed as who has the most money, endorsements and yard signs, but with little media attention paid to this special election, the ideas of the candidates have been lost.

The important questions of what ward 4 residents want and need from a councilmember are not the dominant theme in this campaign because there are too many candidates in this race and none of us have a chance except for the Mayor’s chosen candidate. The mayor's blessing comes with a lot of money, resources and political weight and it has contributed to a level of voter apathy unseen in previous elections.

This is NOT what is best for ward 4. I don't think the mayor should pick her successor; it compromises the integrity of our democratic process. I think the voters of ward four should choose our councilmember free of interference. Ward four needs an independent voice, but we won't get that voice if so many people are putting their own ambitions ahead of what’s in the best interest of ward four residents. We have so many candidates who feel like they should be council member but so few with a realistic chance to win. I think we candidates should put the best interest of ward 4 ahead our political ambitions.

We need one voice to emerge from the crowd. I would like to be that voice, I want to serve and stand up for the city that I love so much, but staying in this race will not allow me to do that. If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. So I am doing what I think is the mature thing to do and withdraw my candidacy from this race.

This was not an easy decision for me to make and I am eternally grateful to my supporters who have been an inspiration to me in this campaign. But I don't see any one voice breaking through the noise of 11 other voices in this race. It is for these reasons that I have chosen to remove myself from consideration. Thank you."

Sent from w4politics@yahoo.com

from Petworth News April 13, 2015 at 07:12PM