Letter campaign uses D.C. workers

Mayor Anthony A. Williams’ administration is using city workers to solicit letters of support for the mayor’s baseball-stadium-financing plan, drawing criticism from ballpark foes.

The letter campaign aims to persuade members of the D.C. Council to back Mr. Williams’ plan for public funding of a $440 million ballpark in Southeast.

Kathy Henderson, a special assistant for communications in the D.C. Office of Community Outreach, sent an e-mail Oct. 8 to about 20 employees, mostly in the mayor’s office, directing them to distribute to their “identified stakeholders” an attached letter praising the stadium-financing package.

The one-paragraph e-mail instructed the city workers to “obtain as many signed letters of support as possible” and return them to the D.C. Office of Community Affairs by close of business Oct. 12. The Washington Times has obtained a copy of the e-mail, which was followed by another e-mail renewing the request on Tuesday.

Williams spokesman Chris Bender said asking city employees to disseminate the letters was meant to help citizens “get the facts right” and encourage those who support the stadium plan to “step up.”

“I think the goal of the government is to do what’s best for the District and to advance the agenda of the mayor,” he said.

But D.C. Council member Adrian M. Fenty, a vocal opponent of the financing plan, called the letter campaign “an act of desperation,” adding that using government workers to lobby for support for the plan is inappropriate.

“I think [government workers] have other things they need to do with their time,” said Mr. Fenty, Ward 4 Democrat.

In addition, Dorothy Brizill, executive director of government watchdog group DCWatch, questioned the ethics of using government resources on behalf of private entities, since Major League Baseball and the eventual owners of the relocated Montreal Expos would benefit from the passage of the stadium-financing plan.

“It may not be technically against the law, but it doesn’t pass the smell test,” she said. “I think you could make a case that it’s an inappropriate use of government resources, especially when you consider that the mayor has said he wants to take this to the public.”

According to the D.C. Code, city workers and resources cannot be used to support or oppose a candidate, an initiative, a referendum or a recall measure. City resources cannot be used to benefit private companies or concerns.

Kathy Williams, attorney for the Office of Campaign Finance, which enforces the city’s employee-conduct rules, said that any comment on the legality of using government workers to lobby for legislation would be “speculative.”

Mr. Bender disagreed with Mr. Fenty’s assertion that the e-mail was an attempt to manufacture favorable feedback for the stadium plan.

“I’m not sure we’re asking for scripted praise,” he said. “Because we provide a letter doesn’t mean we’re spoon-feeding anybody.”

Recipients of the e-mail included the heads of the offices of Latino Affairs; Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs; the director of the Office of Boards and Commissions; and the director of the Office of Partnerships and Grants Development.

The letter, which is more than a page long, is addressed to “council members.” It repeats many of the mayor’s stadium talking points, emphasizing the creation of jobs, the revitalization of the neighborhood and the economic benefits of a baseball stadium.

According to the e-mail, the letters were sent at the request of Anita Bonds, who has served in a variety of city-government positions since the Barry administrations. She was appointed the head of the Office of Community Affairs in August. The Office of Community Outreach’s Web site (www.oco.eom.dc.gov) says that one of its purposes is to provide “channels of communication for residents to express their concerns to the mayor.”

Miss Bonds did not return a call seeking comment.

Meanwhile, the Washington Baseball Club (WBC), a prospective-ownership group led by financier Fred Malek, started an e-mail campaign of its own yesterday.

The group is asking baseball supporters around the region to e-mail pre-written messages to council members urging them to pass the financing measure.

The boilerplate messages, sent to more than 15,000 names in the organization’s database, include the mayor’s talking points and a boast that “the new ballpark will benefit every single resident of the District, even if they never go to a game.”

More than 2,500 messages were sent to the council through the campaign in the first two hours after the e-mail campaign began yesterday.

“There is a lot of opposition effort going on, and we obviously want to make sure all voices are heard,” said Winston Lord, WBC executive director. “We think the support for baseball is undeniable. The numbers coming in already speak for themselves.”

Messages provided by Mr. Fenty showed that many of the e-mails originated from the same address and one e-mail purported to be from “Peter Angelos,” the owner of the Baltimore Orioles and an opponent of moving the Expos to the District.

Mr. Lord said no specific safeguards are in place to protect against joke e-mails sent to the council. But he said such messages were relatively few and “inevitable” in any campaign like this.

While a separate effort from the one emanating from the John A. Wilson Building, the WBC campaign was started in consultation with city officials. The WBC and the District have a memorandum of understanding that governs the joint pursuit of baseball for the city.

• Eric Fisher contributed to this report.