DMV Daily: Biddle vs. Biddle

Sekou Biddle isn’t sure that Sekou Biddle is registered to vote in D.C.

At-Large Council candidate Bryan Weaver, one of three candidates whose petition signatures are being challenged by interim Councilmember Biddle’s campaign, has discovered that the Biddle camp is challenging the validity of Biddle’s own signature on Weaver’s petition.

Said Weaver, “When we came across Biddle’s registration as one that is being challenged by his own campaign -- it is hard to say that with a straight face -- it became very clear, if it wasn’t already, that this challenge was completely random and not well thought out. … The fact that the candidate who is leading this challenge, challenged his own voter registration, really leaves one to wonder if a simple petition challenge is this haphazard and sloppy, how will they govern?”

Meanwhile, Washington Examiner columnist Harry Jaffe gives one of Biddle’s other opponents, Joshua Lopez, some love, noting that “in a city that’s had a rising Hispanic population for the past decade, Lopez is the first serious Latino candidate for public office.” But he “can’t count on Hispanic voters to give him the victory margin against 10 other declared candidates. There simply are too few. He will have to convince voters of all kinds, from all wards, that he’s ready to represent them.”

Elsewhere in the DMV:

* DCist’s Martin Austermuhle has one question about some of Mayor Vincent Gray’s recent hires: Should they “never be allowed to take a high-level government job because they made mistakes or acted like scumbags?” Should the “questionable histories” of Sulaimon Brown, Talib Karim, and Cherita Whiting -- “which include a stint in jail, a restraining order for stalking, and a domestic dispute -- play a role in how we judge their qualifications for the positions they hold?”

Austermuhle isn’t sure, but he says, “We can agree on this much -- Brown’s appointment was a total head-scratcher. His professional experience and salary history didn’t even come close to justifying the gig he got.” That does seem obvious -- which makes it all the more interesting that the Washington Post reports Brown “had been extensively investigated before he was offered the job, including a police background check,” according to “a source close to the transition.”

* What the Post is to Ward 5’s Harry Thomas Jr., the Washington Times is becoming to Ward 7’s Yvette Alexander. The paper has made itself Alexander’s unofficial watchdog, reporting earlier this week on her constituent service spending and now writing that “two close advisers and a fundraiser for [Alexander] are paid members of Wal-Mart’s local ‘consulting team’ now promoting a retail outlet in Ward 7.”

But Alexander isn’t just rolling over. On her website, she has posted a long defense of her constituent services fund spending, and closes by inviting everyone to a big March 30 dinner.

* DCist writes that in the wake of the Kwame Brown SUV leasing scandal, it’s worth noting that there are “city entities getting by with 26-year old pickups (the University of the District of Columbia) and agencies that haven’t gotten a new vehicle since the ‘90s (the D.C. Housing Authority),” and that “the average cost of a D.C. public vehicle lease costs taxpayers about $430, almost 4.5 times less than Brown’s Lincolns.”

* DCist reports the American Civil Liberties Union could take Metro to court “over its decision to randomly swab bags inside Metro stations -- but it needs to find some people who have had their bags swabbed and are upset with the decision first.” ACLU of the Nation’s Capital Director Johnny Barnes said, “The WMATA board is on collision course with the ACLU and its partners.”

* A new poll shows George Allen with a big lead in the race for the Virginia Republican U.S. Senate nomination, but name recognition could be a factor. The Public Policy Polling survey showed Allen favored by 67 percent of regular GOP primary voters, with four possible rivals -- announced candidates David McCormick and Jamie Radtke, and possible contenders Bob Marshall and Corey Stewart -- all failing to rise above single digits. The poll did find an interesting result in an Allen-Tim Kaine general election matchup: a 47-47 tie.

* The Post reports Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill remains on hold in the House of Delegates after Delegates Tiffany Alston and Jill Carter skipped a Judiciary Committee vote earlier this week. Carter “has since said she is prepared to vote for the bill, but aides said she was out sick Thursday.” Alston, a co-sponsor of the bill, now says she is “considering an amendment that would offer civil unions as an alternative.” But Gov. Martin O’Malley told reporters that he hopes the House “would send him the same bill that passed the Senate last week on a 25 to 21 vote.”

Follow P.J. Orvetti on Twitter at @PJOinDC