Nadeau Seeks Black Support in Re-election Bid

D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau announced her bid for re-election in 2018. She made it clear she is seeking the support of Blacks.

D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau recently announced her bid for reelection in 2018. (Courtesy Photo)

Nadeau, who is White, represents Ward 1 on the D.C. Council as a Democrat. She is the first politician to declare for re-election in the 2018 cycle. She made her official bid on Feb. 22 at the Coupe DC Club in Columbia Heights before 40 people. “We plan to run a strong campaign and that will consist of going door-to-door and I want you to join me,” Nadeau, first elected to the council in 2014, said.

She announced early in order begin raising money for the 2018 Democratic Party primary and expects opponents “because I am a freshman” lawmaker and they tend to be easier to defeat than veterans.

Nadeau defeated incumbent Jim Graham in the 2014 Democratic Party primary and went on to win in the November general election. Nadeau is Ward 1’s fourth representative on the D.C. Council, with the late David A. Clarke, Frank Smith and Graham as predecessors.

The general election will be on held on Nov. 6, 2018. The date for the Democratic primary hasn’t been set, according to the District of Columbia Board of Elections web site. In 2018, the D.C. mayor, council chairman, attorney general, two at-large seats and Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6 will be up for election.

Among those attending Nadeau’s announcement were D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and council members Robert White (D-At Large), Elissa Silverman (I-At Large), and David Grosso (I-At Large). Black D.C. Council members Anita Bonds (D-At Large) and Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) were listed on Nadeau’s host committee for the event.

Lynn French, a Black resident from Ward 1 serving as the chairman of Nadeau’s re-election bid, said Nadeau has earned a second term. “I was looking for a new person to support in 2014. Brianne pledged that if elected to the council, she would serve everybody in the ward,” French told the AFRO.

During her speech, Nadeau highlighted some of her achievements: getting 500 new units of affordable housing, $259,000 in gang intervention funds, four school modernization projects, and a main street project in Columbia Heights.

She pledged to work even harder if re-elected. “I want to make sure that longtime residents are respected,” Nadeau told the AFRO. “I take pride in the diversity of Ward 1 and want to continue that. I am grateful for the support I have in the African-American community and I will continue to do everything I can for African Americans and for anyone else who lives in this ward.”

Shun Pittman owns the Corps de’Elite salon on U Street and is a firm Nadeau supporter. “Council member Nadeau supports Black businesses on U Street and she is for everyone,” Pittman told the AFRO.

Ben’s Chili Bowl founder Virginia Ali attended the campaign kick-off as did Stanley Mayes, a Black member of the D.C. Democratic State Committee.

Nadeau said she’s received early support from labor groups such as SEIU and the District area chapter of the Laborers International Union of North America. While the council member has support in her early bid for re-election, some Black residents are on the fence.

“I am here to participate in the process,” Ward 1 resident William Jordan, who is Black, told the AFRO. “I want to influence the candidates who are running for office. I attended this event because I am concerned about my neighborhood. Every politician will have to earn my support and that includes Brianne.”