We Know Carol Schwartz. She Just Wants to Be Mayor
• November 19, 2014

 The scene looked and sounded familiar.

Walking into Kramerbooks and Afterwords Café on Connecticut Avenue last week for a lunchtime interview, mayoral candidate Carol Schwartz was greeted by a couple of diners with a “We’re voting for you, Carol.”  After the interview, riding on the 42 bus, a woman recognized her and introduced her as a candidate for mayor of the District of Columbia, urging passengers to vote for her.

This is nothing new for Carol Schwartz.  Those shout-outs are echoes of all of her previous campaigns in the city, running for school board, and the city council,  where she occupied the lone non-Democratic Party seat for a period of 16 years as well as four mayoral runs.

People know Carol Schwartz.

She is not alone either—this campaign, long-running since the April primary and slow to gain traction and has seen all three candidates fanning out into forays into the city’s neighborhoods for one-on-one contacts, to street corners and Metro Stops, going door to door, or to meet and greets.  Schwartz, Muriel Bowser, the Democratic Primary winner back in April, and David Catania, the long-time, at-large District councilmember, have made it a point to get personal face time with prospective voters throughout the city.  Catania and Schwartz, both former Republicans, are running as Independents.

For Schwartz,  it’s a little more simple.

People really do know Carol Schwartz, and not just from her travels throughout the city in this campaign.  And it’s fair to say that the people who know her, like her.  This good will and warmth may or may not translate into votes.  Schwartz is hoping it does.  This is likely the most engaging, appealing and effective part of her campaign.

“I’m telling you, I feel like I have the energy of a teenager,” Schwartz said over lunch.  “It’s just there.  I get by on four hours of sleep a night. You get up, and you’re raring to go.”

She says she did not decide to run on a whim, or out of some lingering anger over her last campaigns, six years ago,  in which she lost the Republican Primary, and then lost a write-in campaign. Some media observers have called her decision to run an exercise in nostalgia, which she dismisses.

“I want to be mayor of this city,” she said. “I know with all my heart that I would be a great mayor, and I have the experience to prove it. “

Her experience is deep and real and runs across a broad range of issues. On the District Council, where she served a total of four terms, she chaired committees on public works and the environment, on local, regional and federal affairs. While being a Republican, she often and consistently seemed more progressive than her Democratic colleagues. 

She served as chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Board of Directors as well as president. In 2004, she chaired COG’s National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Council.  The former special education teacher calls herself the real education candidate.

All the major candidates who are running claim across-the-board support among whites, African Americans, women, minorities and gays, but Schwartz can claim that she’s gotten that  support in previous city-wide campaigns.  Although she was defeated in all of her mayoral campaigns—three against Mayor Marion Barry and one against Anthony Williams—she rang up impressive numbers across the city as a Republican candidate.

Schwartz came to Washington as an energetic young Jewish woman from Texas.  She was smitten right away.  “I have had  a life-long love affair with this city,” she said, more than once.  She began political life as a Republican. (“I was and am a fiscal conservative,” she said.) She is certainly one of the most progressive and often liberal Republican you ever saw, when it came to social issues, help for the homeless, the unemployed, the underserved of this city and the working class.

“When I lost the primary, and then the write-in, well, okay, that was that,” she said, referring to her 2008 council campaign. “I wasn’t all that eager to get back into politics.” But she continued her life-long volunteer activities—Whitman Walker board member, Washington Animal Rescue League, Metropolitan Police Boys and Girls Club—because, she said, “if there are opportunities to take care of a problem, then I want to be there.”

Yet, here she is, a live wire and optimistic and full of fire, even though all the polls that have surfaced put her solidly in third place.  She is not backing away. She’s not discouraged, even as time runs out on the campaign. “I know about the polls, but when you’re out there, there’s something different going on,” she said. “There’s . . . I don’t know . . . something going on underneath.  I think I can still win. I really do.”

She’s been talking a lot about Washington as a tale of two cities—in particular the income gap, the great disparity between the have and have-nots.  To that end, she’s promised to create a mayor’s office for disparity solutions.

She’s running against the wind—she’s her own campaign manager, with her daughter Hilary, who is a professional standup comedian, as co-manager.  Another daughter, Stephanie, is an attorney, and her son Doug is a singer, songwriter and author.

We asked her about the possibility if she would consider running for the District Council in the future, should she not win Tuesday, Schwartz replied, “I’m not thinking about the future right now. I’m running for mayor right now.”

Georgetown University Touts Its Community Ties
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Georgetown University touts its community connections with the release of its 2014 community engagement annual report, “Georgetown University in the District of Columbia.”

“As an anchor institution in the District and a Catholic and Jesuit university, Georgetown University has a strong commitment to advancing the common good, and we seek to do that as a driver of the economy, a community partner and a good neighbor,” said Lauralyn Lee, Associate Vice President for Community Engagement and Strategic Initiatives.

The university invites its neighbors to review the report – and to learn about the wide range of ways Georgetown University is at work in the District. The list is impressive and, in some places, unexpected. The university is continuing its expansion with a Downtown campus and plans include other places farther to the east side of the city.

For more detailed information regarding these and other initiatives, visit communityengagement.georgetown.edu/annual-report .
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Ina Ginsburg, Arts and Fashion Patron, Warhol Muse, Dies at 98
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Ina Ginsburg, who fled Nazi Europe to emigrate to the United States and went on to become one of the tastemakers of Washington society, died Nov. 9 at her Washington, D.C., home at the age of 98.

The stylish and social Ginsburg intersected with the careers of artist Andy Warhol, who drew her in several silk-screen portraits, and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also hailed from her native Austria — and with many of the movers and shakers in Georgetown and Washington during the second half of the 20th century.

Ginsburg hosted parties at her Georgetown home which she shared with her second husband, David Ginsburg, a Washington insider, whom he met after the end of World War II in Europe when he was with the U.S. Army. Later, she worked as the Washington editor for Warhol’s Interview Magazine in the 1980s, when it branded Washington as “Hollywood on the Potomac.”

A supporter of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ginsburg was also a founding member of the Washington National Opera and trustee of the American Film Institute. She also brought art into the Federal Reserve’s headquarters and helped to begin the Fed’s fine arts board.

Interviewed herself and written about by other publications, Ginsburg was often in the pages of The Georgetowner as well. She was last seen on its website in an Oct. 8 story about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg being presented with the Institute for Education’s 2014 Cultural Diplomacy Award.

“Ina was an integral part of Washington at its very best,” said photographer Didi Cutler. “Intelligent, glamorous, sophisticated , artistic and creative, she was a passionate supporter of the arts. A warm and gracious hostess, she entertained in great style. I felt privileged to be among her many friends.”

Kevin Chaffee, senior editor at Washington Life, said: “Ina was one of the most sophisticated and fashionable women in Washington for well over a half-century and also one of the wittiest and most intelligent. After I read her stories in Andy Warhol’s Interview back in the Reagan years, she would tell me all the stuff she didn’t dare put in! Later, she was a great source for my own pieces. She was a major character — the last of the best in so many ways.”

Born Ida Spira in Vienna on Oct. 10, 1916, Ginsburg is survived by her three children — Jonathan Ginsburg of Fairfax, Va., Susan Ginsburg of Alexandria, Va., and Mark Ginsburg of Berlin — and by two grandchildren.

‘Washington in the ’80s’: WETA’s Take on the Decade of Barry and Reagan
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The 1980s in Washington, D.C., is the focus of WETA’s latest documentary on local history of the nation’s capital. The one-hour WETA production premieres 8 p.m., Monday, Nov. 17, at on WETA TV 26; it will repeat at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22, and 8 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 26.

The Reagan Inauguration. The hostages released. Reagan shot. The Air Florida and Metro crashes of Jan. 13, 1982. John Riggins and the Redskins. Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas. Len Bias overdoses.

“Washington in the ’80s” offers up the images and stories of President Ronald Reagan and Mayor Marion Barry as well as that of the Washington Redskins, Super Bowl champions in 1982 and 1987, and the Georgetown University Hoyas, winners of the NCAA basketball championship in 1984. Go-go and punk music made their splash in D.C., although not throughout all of the city. The local theater scene expanded downtown. And, yes, the use of cocaine was more than mentioned.

It is a fast-paced, broad-brush feature on the social, political and cultural changes of the 1980s that could have totaled at least two hours. The rehabilitation of the Old Post Office and Union Station are talked, but there could have more details on downtown D.C. and Georgetown. WETA has also produced documentaries on Washington in the 1960s and in the 1970s.

For the piece, WETA interviews included Barry and former councilmember and mayoral candidate Carol Schwartz, television journalists Maureen Bunyan and Tom Sherwood, radio journalist Kojo Nnamdi, political commentator Pat Buchanan, entertainment reporter Arch Campbell, former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, musician Kato Hammond, former D.C. police chief Isaac Fulwood and architect Arthur Cotton Moore.

The documentary talks up the good side of Barry with his summer jobs programs along with efforts to increase minority participation in government and business as well as his encouragement of business development — the construction of Washington Harbour in Georgetown is cited. Besides the drug scrounge, the advent of the AIDS epidemic is underscored with a more open and accepted gay community in D.C.

Opening to sounds of “Funky Town” and headlining the optimism and energy of Reagan and Barry, “Washington in the ’80s” ends the decade on a sour note as it highlights the crack cocaine crisis in D.C., which became known as “the murder capital of America” and whose mayor had to deny publicly that he snorted cocaine.
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Open Friday for Ice Skating: Washington Harbour, NGA Sculpture Garden Ice Rink
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November to March is ice skating season, and the cold of Polar Vortex is showing up right on time. Here are two of the best ice skating venues in D.C.

Both the Washington Harbour Ice Rink and the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden Ice Rink will open tomorrow, Nov. 14, and weather permitting, continue through mid-March.

The Washington Harbour ice rink on Georgetown’s waterfront is D.C.’s largest outdoor skating rink. Admission is $10 for adults and $9 for children, seniors and military. Skate rentals are $5. Washington Harbour also offers six week long sessions to learn to skate.

Washington Harbour ice rink hours:

Monday and Tuesday: noon to 7 p.m.

Wednesday to Thursday: noon to 9 p.m.

Friday: noon to 10 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. 7 p.m.

Located on the National Mall, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden ice rink is one of the best locations for ice skating. Daily admission is $8 for adults and $7 for seniors, students, and children. Season tickets are available for $195. Skate rentals are $3.

National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden ice rink hours:

Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Washington Design Center Celebrates New Digs, New Energy
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Guests attending the Nov. 12 opening of Washington Design Center at its new location at 1099 14th St., NW, experienced nothing less than a rebirth of the city’s design and decoration cooperative. The change in locale at the three-floor regional trade market place from its former Southwest D.C. spot was evident. Equipped with 21 charmingly designed showrooms, attendees perused each section, admiring works from such designers as Holly Hunt, Robert Allen and Scalamandré, to name a few.

The Franklin Court Building was chosen for its proximity to the stylish 14th Street neighborhood, which is ideal, as it is quickly becoming known as the D.C.’s design district. “We wanted to be more visible and more accessible,” Ann Lambeth, co-owner of the J. Lambeth & Co. showroom, told the Washington Post.

The design center encourages consumers to stop by and browse the showrooms, while accompanied by a representative of the Franklin Court Management Office. Although purchasing onsite isn’t an option, the WDC management will be more than willing to give referrals.

Ultimately, party-goers and designers alike were very pleased with the new digs. “The energy level is just so different. It feels younger and more vibrant,” David Herchik, president of Washington’s JDS Designs, told the Washington Post.

Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge Diversions
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Repairs on the structurally deficient Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek Park are supposed to begin next summer. Officials are now considering changes to the traffic plan for the 15-month project.

Officials plan to limit the roadway to two lanes eastbound for eight months, diverting traffic to 26th and M Streets, NW. During the project, DDOT is considering making 26th Street one-way northbound to improve the flow of traffic while preserving a lane of parking. But some community members think it is important to retain both directions of travel. A decision is expected by the end of the month.

Crime and Safety: Armed Robberies Rattle Residents, Students
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A Georgetown University student was mugged two weeks ago at K and 34th Street NW. That and other crimes – involving handguns — in Georgetown’s residential and business districts and near the university have been on the uptick of late and prompted on-camera interviews of students by NBC4’s Derrick Ward at 36th and N Streets Nov. 14.

In other reports:

Three robberies early Saturday morning, Nov. 8, were reported in or close to Georgetown, and another took place Oct. 31 farther up Wisconsin Avenue, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. The area is not known for many crimes involving guns or knives.

All four incidents occurred in MPD’s Second District, which includes Georgetown, Dupont Circle and most of Northwest Washington. Two happened within three or four blocks of Second District headquarters at 3320 Idaho Ave., NW.

A robbery occurred at 33rd and P Streets, NW, at 1:40 a.m., Nov. 8. Police are looking for two black males, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-8, both of thin build and dark complexion. Also on Nov. 8, an armed robbery took place at 2:26 a.m. in the 3000 block of Idaho Avenue, NW. MPD is looking for two black males, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot, slim build, dark clothing. One was armed with a silver gun.

Again on Nov. 8, around 2 a.m., at Rhode Island and Connecticut Avenues, NW, there was an assault with a deadly weapon, a knife. The suspect was arrested.

On Oct. 31, an armed robbery was committed just after midnight in the 3700 block of Macomb Street, NW, which intersects with Wisconsin Avenue.

Stewart and Bahari Preview ‘Rosewater’ in D.C.
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Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” screened his new movie, “Rosewater,” at the Newseum on Nov. 9 and at Georgetown University on Nov. 10. Written and directed by Stewart, the film is based on “Then They Came for Me,” Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari’s book about his 118-day incarceration by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in Tehran. Bahari joined Stewart on his trip to Washington, with the duo discussing the film at both preview screenings. Released nationwide on Nov. 14, “Rosewater” is currently playing at the AMC Loews Georgetown and at Landmark Theatres’ E Street Cinema.

Crosswalks at Cross Purposes
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In an attempt to improve pedestrian safety in and around Washington Circle, where Pennsylvania Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue and K Street converge, the D.C. Department of Transportation tripled the number of signalized crosswalks, from six to 18, and increased the number of crosswalks in and out of the circle, from four to six.

With all the new crosswalks, drivers are now getting backed up. The recent change from one-way to two-way traffic on a portion of New Hampshire Avenue has exacerbated the problem.

DDOT is trying to address the complaints from drivers while accommodating the needs of pedestrians and the adjacent George Washington University hospital, adding temporary crossing guards to the circle during rush hours. Also, traffic-signal technicians have been working on the lights to try and ease the congestion.