DC Dem Profiles: Council Chair

This Summer, Sum of Change will be bringing you extensive coverage of D.C. local elections. To kick it off, we've been invited by D.C. for Democracy to film their pre-endorsement candidate meet n' greet on Wednesday, June 2. In preparation, we put together some bios on all the candidates that will be attending. Bios for Republican candidates for these seats will be coming shortly. To find all our current DC candidate bios, please visit our 2010 DC Election Page.

These are the Democratic Candidates for Council Chair

Councilmember At Large Kwame Brown

Committee Assignments:
• Committee on Economic Development, Kwame R. Brown - Chairperson
• Committee on Government Operations and the Environment
• Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation
• Committee on Finance and Revenue
• Committee on Public Works and Transportation

Kwame Brown started service on the DC Council in 2005. In a short time, Kwame has emerged as a national leader in Washington. He currently serves as chair of the Council’s Committee on Economic Development and Vice-Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. He is the first DC Councilmember to be a member of the Congressional Award Foundation Board of Directors, a national organization that promotes volunteerism, public service, personal development and physical fitness.

From Councilman Brown's official online bio:

In addition to his leadership roles, Kwame’s first term in office led to the revitalization of Phelps High School in Ward 5, passage of the School Modernization Act, a reform of the District’s domestic violence laws, and an unprecedented focus on neighborhood revitalization, job training and local small business development.

Kwame was recently named one of the top 10 people to watch in 2009 by the Washington Business Journal.

Vincent Orange

Former Councilmember and current VP of Pepco, Vincent Orange is attempting to get back into politics by challenging Kwame Brown.

From Wikipedia:

On September 12, 2006, Orange lost his bid for mayor in the Democratic primary of the 2006 Washington, D.C. mayoral election. Orange is now the regional vice president for Pepco Holdings Inc. for the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Orange is an attorney and a certified public accountant. He graduated from the University of the Pacific, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 1979, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, 1980. In 1983 he earned a Juris Doctor from Howard University. In 1988, he graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he earned a Master of Laws in Taxation.

Orange served as chair of the Committee on Government Operations. There are numerous agencies under the Committee on Government Operation's purview that play an integral role in developing the overall policy for the District of Columbia. He also sat on three standing committees: Public Services, Public Works and the Environment, and Labor, Voting Rights and Redistricting.