Forget Mayor Adrian Fenty's 15-second TV spots. Ward 1 Council candidate Bryan Weaver has created what has to be the best D.C. political ad of the year.
For three minutes, Weaver takes a quick walk around the ward, pointing out his Adams Morgan house, his family, his alma mater Howard University, and other sites. He also noshes on food from just about every corner of the ward. But there's a serious side to the video. Weaver says big developers are letting down the neighborhoods he loves, and says the city should focus on supporting locally owned small businesses.
Washington City Paper's Jason Cherkis says he hopes the video goes viral, since Weaver "actually makes a lot of great points." DCist's Aaron Morrissey calls it "the best campaign video you'll see all year," noting the similarity to a 1990 spot from then-longshot Minnesota Senate candidate Paul Wellstone. Weaver would be flattered -- he used to be an aide to Wellstone, one of his political heroes.
Weaver, an advisory neighborhood commissioner and community activist, has an uphill fight against incumbent Jim Graham in the Democratic primary. Weaver -- whose wife is from Colombia and who leads youth cultural exchange trips to Guatemala -- has the backing of the D.C. Latino Caucus, but Graham has the cash. Graham had $210,000 on hand at the end of the last quarter, to Weaver's $29,000. An internal Graham campaign poll last month showed the incumbent at 68 percent, to Weaver's 8 percent and 7 percent for a third candidate, Jeff Smith.
