But fuss is likely to follow Facebook flip-flop
Being in the pressure cooker that is Washington DC can make a person hunger for the comforts of home.
That may be why US Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge gathered some of her closest associates together this past Tuesday at a familiar haunt in her hometown Warrensville Heights, the city she presided over as mayor before going to Congress in 2008.
The leisurely dinner gathering of a dozen or so intimates at Frederick’s Wine and Dine Restaurant on Emery Road had the feel of a family reunion according to John Hairston Jr., who headed Fudge’s district office during part of her tenure as 11th District Congresswoman.
Hairston said the evening was like old times, with Fudge regaling the gathering with insights about her new job, the challenges facing the country, and what it’s like working with and for President Biden.
The attendee list was about as close to a Fudge intimate’s list as you can get. In the photo above, from lower right and going around the table: Kenn Dowell, a longtime political advisor; Cleveland city councilman and mayoral candidate Basheer Jones; close friend Danny Couch; Fudge; Democratic Party chair and Congressional candidate Shontel Brown; Highland Hills mayor Michael Booker; Couch’s daughter; Warrensville Hts. councilwoman Kimberly Hodge-Edwards; county board of elections employee Meredith Turner; businesswoman Ariane Kirkpatrick (she and Couch are married), restaurant owner Frederick Parks; and Samir Muhammad.
Parks is sitting in Hairston’s seat, having joined the festivities after Hairston’s departure. His restaurant has long been a favored gathering spot for southeast side politicos.
The photo was posted Tuesday night on Dowell’s Facebook page under the caption Good Fellas. By Wednesday morning it had been taken down.
The caption was perhaps an unfortunate tag, especially given Muhammad’s presence. The former deputy county auditor was a key figure in the largest corruption scandal in Cuyahoga County history. He was convicted of bribery, racketeering, extortion, and witnessing tampering charges, but received a reduced sentence of 46 months for cooperating with authorities in their investigation of former county auditor Frank Russo and former county commissioner Jimmy Dimora.
Muhammad is reportedly serving as field director for Jones' mayoral campaign.
Fudge may also undergo scrutiny for her public association with candidates Brown and Jones. Two days after the dinner, it was announced that the US Office of Special Counsel had concluded that Fudge violated the Hatch Act, the law that limits the political activities of all federal civilian executive branch employees, when she commented on Ohio politics at a White House press conference shortly after becoming HUD Secretary.
Fudge quickly apologized for that indiscretion and the special counsel’s office closed the case after its finding. But this dinner photo with friends may provide fodder to Republicans who disliked the partisan tone she manifested while in Congress, a tone that was undeterred by Republican braggadocio. The ex-Congresswoman may soon discover what it is like to be assaulted by the political opposition while you are forced to be more circumspect than either nature or habit have conditioned you.
Notwithstanding her public appearance with two candidates currently seeking high-profile public offices, in this instance Fudge does not appear to have run further afoul of the Hatch Act violations. She was on private time and clearly not acting in an official capacity. A spokesperson for the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority said in an email this morning that she was unaware the Secretary had even been in town this week.
Undoubtedly, however, the Secretary now has a greater appreciation that as long as she is a member of the Cabinet, she is in a fishbowl regardless of her locale.
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