Brady seeks consolation mayoral prize

Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) lost the primary to become mayor of Philadelphia, but he very much wants to become “mayor” of Capitol Hill.

The House Administration Committee chairman slot is up for grabs and Brady, who has been serving as interim chairman since the late Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.) took a leave of absence prior to her passing last month, has indicated that he wants the job, according to his Chief of Staff Stanley White.

{mosads}Millender-McDonald, who had been suffering from cancer, died at the age of 68 on April 22.

Calls to the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will make the final decision on who will chair the panel, were not returned.

Yet, Brady is likely to become chairman, said an aide familiar with the committee process. Usually the second in line assumes leadership after the Speaker makes it official.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) is the second highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, but she has her hands full as chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law. Lofgren is also the chairwoman of the House Administration Committee’s elections panel.
There has been speculation that Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), third in line on the committee, also would like to hold the gavel. His office did not return calls for comment.

Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas), also a member of the committee, has indicated that he would be honored to hold the position.

“This decision will be made by leadership,” Gonzalez said in an e-mail. “And while I have not been approached or involved in any discussions regarding the chairmanship of the Committee on House Administration, I’d be honored and privileged to serve if it were determined that there was a role for me to play.”

Brady was a contender in a six-way Democratic primary to become mayor of Philadelphia. He garnered 15 percent of the vote, losing to Michael Nutter, a former city councilman.

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) leads Brady by 129 votes for third place with all but one of the 1,681 precincts reporting.
Upon returning to Washington Thursday, the lawmakers embraced their colleagues and each other. Fattah walked onto the House floor, where Pelosi grasped his hands and said, “We need you. We need you more than ever.”
Brady, who had been sitting in the so-called Pennsylvania corner with Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), ambled into the Speaker’s Lobby, shook hands with Fattah and then kissed his wife, Renee Chenault-Fattah, on the cheek.

The Pennsylvania Democrats conducted a post-race analysis that went something like this: Fattah, considered an intellectual and an ideas-oriented politician, ran a campaign that did not connect with the average voter. Brady, realizing that he would not prevail, turned his fire on Tom Knox, an insurance executive who spent millions in television advertisements. By going negative, Brady helped Michael Nutter, a former Philadelphia city councilman, cruise to victory.

 Asked how he felt about being back in Congress after the campaign, Brady told reporters, “Ah, you know. I’m tired.”