Democratic lobbyist Moses Mercado, a former Hill aide and superdelegate for Barack Obama in 2008, knows something about campaign organizing from his years in national politics. He’s bringing those skills to a local campaign much closer to his Capitol Hill home.
Mercado is among a cadre of lobbyists, congressional aides, political fundraisers, and communications executives who are signing on as volunteers in a budding effort to oust D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (D), who represents Capitol Hill, over his handling of local criminal justice policy.
They’re deploying their professional skills, such as raising money, recruiting organizers, and devising a messaging strategy — but in their personal time and separate from their day jobs. These K Street and congressional insiders are making the highly unusual foray in to local politics because they’re worried for their safety and for the future of the capital city.
City officials, like Allen, they said, haven’t taken the crime situation seriously enough. Allen, who was chairman of the council’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, spearheaded measures to overhaul policing and to roll back penalties (including a measure that Congress overturned last year).
“Hopefully, this will get people’s attention,” said Mercado, a lobbyist at Ogilvy Government Relations, and a longtime resident of Capitol Hill.
Mercado said he hadn’t gotten involved much in local politics before, but said the rising crime rates, including murders and carjackings, prompted him to reach out to Allen.
“He was very polite. His emails are fantastic,” Mercado said. But he didn’t feel he was getting through.
The effort’s first fundraising deadline was Wednesday and supporters have included in-house TikTok lobbyist Michael Hacker, a former House Democratic leadership aide; Democratic fundraiser Tonya Fulkerson of Fulkerson Kennedy & Co.; and Mitchell Rivard, who is chief of staff for Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) and lives in D.C., though not in Allen’s ward.
Rich Masters, executive vice president for public affairs at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, is helping lead the public relations effort in his spare time.
‘Dinner Table Conversation’
“Public safety is not a partisan issue,” Rivard said. “In the course of my daily life, my friends, my neighbors are increasingly scared to walk their dog or drive around. This is dinner table conversation I have with anyone who cares about this city.”
Rivard said local city leaders had not taken crime seriously enough.
Republicans in Congress have worked to highlight D.C.'s rising crime rates and led the bipartisan effort in nullifying the city council’s crime overhaul bill last year.
Mercado said he previously voted for Allen and is sympathetic to the D.C. Council’s push to overhaul policing and sentencing.
“There’s a lot of injustices, I get it,” Mercado said. “But policing, safety and crime is a big issue.” He said his message for Allen was that his policies were giving “fodder” to Republicans to criticize progressive stances on crime and policing.
Allen did not respond to requests for comment. He won re-election in 2022 with 94% of the vote and had no opponent in the general election or the primary.
Sending a Message
The effort against Allen is about more than one city leader, the recall organizers said; it’s also about sending a signal to other councilmembers and city leaders.
Crime in D.C. has grabbed the attention of lawmakers. Last year, Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) were victims of crime in the city.
This week, a driver was killed in what police said was a carjacking in the NOMA neighborhood near Capitol Hill. Mike Gill, a senior vice president at the Housing Policy Council, was critically injured in a shooting in downtown D.C. this week, according to news reports.
Last year, D.C. recorded 274 homicides, the most in more than 20 years, according to the city’s data. Motor vehicle theft was up 82% last year from the previous year.
Masters, who lives in Allen’s Ward 6, said he knew of numerous carjackings in a three-block radius of his home.
“We’ve all had some frustrations,” he said.
Capitol Hill residents Ned Ertel, a retired internet executive, and retired federal worker Jennifer Squires are among those leading the recall effort. Squires said she hadn’t made a specific effort to reach out to lobbyists and those in politics.
“It’s just natural — we live on Capitol Hill. That’s who lives here,” she said. “We didn’t necessarily go looking for specific skill sets, they are the people we hang out with.”
Campaign Goals
Ertel estimates that the recall effort will need to gather more than 7,500 signatures and that doing so will likely require hiring paid workers, as well as volunteers.
They’ve been raising money for about two weeks and donors may give up to $500.
The D.C. Board of Elections scheduled a Feb. 7 meeting to take up the issue, the organizers said.
Republican lobbyist and Hill resident John Feehery said he was supportive of the recall effort and has been critical of Allen’s handling of crime, but he said the recall effort was led by Democrats. “I am a cheerleader, and I’ve been wanting Charles Allen to be recalled,” he said.
Mercado said he hoped local D.C. leaders would take notice amid the recall.
“Everyone sees the crisis we’re in,” Mercado said, outlining his message for Allen, “except you and your colleagues.”
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