Black Republican for DC Mayor?!

Dennis Moore has a slogan for his mayoral campaign: "Mayor for a New Washington."

In Moore's mind, that's a Washington where a Republican can be elected mayor.

"I do not see myself as some underdog just because the city is predominantly Democratic," said Moore, a Ward 5 resident who is running as a Republican. "That's negligible. It's about the message, and about the people." Then Moore paraphrased famed Democratic presidential campaign strategist James Carville: "It's the people, Stupid."

In his more clear-headed moments, Moore, 53, acknowledges he faces an uphill climb and that he's something of an anomaly as an African-American Republican.

"My family are traditional Republicans," said Moore, who has lived in Savannah, Ga., Harlem and D.C. "We come out of the Frederick Douglass, Eisenhower, Martin Luther King Jr. line."

Moore is one of four people who have said they are seeking the Republican nomination and are trying to find 300 registered Republicans to sign their nominating petitions. The others are James Caviness, a cab driver; Gilbert Hahn Jr., a former appointed member of the D.C. Council; and David W. Kranich, a member of the D.C. republican committee.

"Obviously, we are the minority party, but we still believe strongly in a two-party system," said Jamila Atkinson, executive director of the D.C. GOP. "You have to run people to win."

But not everyone is listening.


The GOP candidates have difficulty getting invited to speak at mayoral debates, which usually feature the five leading Democratic candidates. At a forum sponsored by the D.C. Alliance for Youth Advocacy, Moore showed up but was relegated to a seat in the crowd of mostly teens, even though Democratic front-runners Adrian M. Fenty and Linda W. Cropp failed to appear.

Moore gets a bit preturbed about this, but he soldiers on, touting his fliers and his web site. His wife, Miriam, is running as an Independent for the Ward 5 D.C. Council seat. Dennis Moore has a 10-point action plan to improve the city and he rails against major projects such as the new baseball stadium and the convention center, which he says take away funding and focus from social problems that plague the city.

"These are nothing more than bureaucratic boondoggles that have no immediate or long-term socioeconomic benefits for D.C. residents," Moore said. "These have nothing to do with affordable housing, first-class schools and effective health care. They are just pet special interest projects, away of distracting people from real needs."

In that vein, Moore sounds like Fenty, who also railed against the baseball stadium. In fact, all the Democratic candidates are pushing the need to improve social services.

"At first, frankly, some people hear my message and ask, 'Are you sure you're a Republican?'" Moore said. "Of course, because these are real Republican values. If you're talking neo-Republicans and neo-conservatism, that's a whole different brand. I'm an old school traditional Republican and an Eisenhower baby."

Moore said he is a self-employed Internet publisher, who specializes in making Web sites, news and public affairs. He said he worked briefly for the District government, first in the public school's Office of Parent Affairs from 1998 to 1999, then for a few months in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.

He recently attended the Republican National Committee's minority candidate school in Virginia for a weekend. Although he concedes that he will have far less money and fewer volunteers that the major Democratic candidates, Moore remains unbowed.

"People aren't stupid," he said. "District voters are avid and aware when candidates speak to the issues and those priorities that resonate with them. It's not about how many posters or commercials you have. It's about talking to everyday residents who care about your message and what you will do with that message."