Douglass Sloan, considered one of the top tier candidates for the Ward 4 City Council seat, surprised the local political establishment last week when he opted to withdraw from the race. At the Washington City Paper Candidates Forum, Sloan stated: “This race should not be about the candidates, but about the voters of Ward 4. What we’re looking at is too many candidates in this race and quite frankly, no one has a chance of winning outside of the mayor’s candidate. I don’t believe the mayor should get to choose her successor.” (Quote taken from Joint Media Advisory Statement– Sloan Endorses Andrews)
After dropping out of the special election race almost two weeks ago, former Ward 4 candidate Doug Sloan revealed Friday who he is endorsing. Sloan now backs Leon T. Andrews Jr., who reported nearly $56,000 cash on hand Monday. He is the only viable candidate left who has enough capital to beat current favorite and front runner Brandon Todd. That’s not all due to Andrews’ fundraising expertise, though. In March and April, he advanced his campaign $100,000. The loans make up more than sixty percent of the total funds that Andrews’ campaign has raised in total. Sloan stated that he is financially situated to make the best run at Todd. And yet, financially-speaking, Andrews is not situated that well. Todd has a reported $160,000 left in his bank account, nearly three times Andrews’ reserve with the election a week away. Sloan and Andrews have not succeeded at convincing other candidates to drop out thus far. In an official statement from his campaign office, Andrews encourages his rivals to “follow Doug’s lead and what’s best for the good people of Ward 4.”
