The debate was organized by the Student Voices Project, which brings information on election campaigns to students. The majority of the evening was taken up with the replies of four mayoral candidates to questions asked by members of a panel made of up students from a number of schools.

The debate opened with one-minute statements by each candidate. Along with Manuel, Democratic incumbent Anthony Williams, Republican council member Carol Schwartz, and Independent Tricia Kinch spoke.

"Do the candidates favor statehood for Washington?" asked Georgetown Day senior Alejandro Golding. Opposition to Columbia’s second-class "district" status and support for statehood are long-standing positions of the labor movement and fighters against racism. Stating his support for that stance, Manuel said that statehood can only be achieved in a deep-going struggle organized by workers, farmers, and "youth like yourselves, as in the example of the civil rights movement."

Kinch and Schwartz declared themselves in favor of statehood. Williams disagreed, and said that he wants to see "full representation" of D.C. citizens in Congress.

The assault on Iraq now in preparation by Washington will be "a war to defend the interests of the oil companies in the region," said the socialist candidate in response to a question on how he would have voted on the Congressional war resolution--passed with a bipartisan majority--authorizing President George Bush to launch such action. Kinch also said that she would have voted "no." Both Williams and Schwartz said they would have voted for the resolution.

When asked about gentrification, a process by which working-class families are forced out of their homes by skyrocketing rents, Manuel responded that "this problem is rooted in the capitalist system, which treats housing as a commodity. There’s no shortage of housing in this city. If you drive around you’ll see tons of abandoned housing. In order to address this question and provide affordable housing for all, we need to abolish the profit motive." The Socialist Workers representative noted that in the early stages of the Cuban Revolution, the revolutionary government slashed rents to 10 percent of income--an approach it maintains to this day.

The discussion on housing was timely, since it had just been revealed that nine homeless people had died of hypothermia in the city’s streets in the past two winters--a figure that reflects the problem for working people of finding suitable and decent housing.

Student Marcus Horne asked the candidates how they would improve the city’s education system, which he described as one of the worst in the country. In response, Manuel discussed the character of the schools as institutions under capitalism. For the great majority of the children of working people he said, "there is no meaningful ‘educational system’ in this country, but a training system geared to lead students" into a life of labor for the boss or the state.

Answering a question about what they would do about the drug trade and its ruinous effects, most of the candidates called for more police. Schwartz called for "getting the police officers out of their cars and onto the streets."

In contrast, Manuel said that "the drug industry is a business. Legitimate businessmen who participate in both legal and illegal trade profit from the production and trade in addictive drugs. Far from being a solution, the police know exactly who the drug dealers are and receive kickbacks.

"The only way to end the drug problem," he said, "is for workers and farmers to take power from the capitalist class, and address such social problems through the active participation of workers and youth. The Cuban Revolution, which I support, achieved this, because they eliminated the profit motive."

The question of cop brutality also came up after the event during Manuel’s informal discussion with students. The socialist candidate explained the class basis of the capitalist justice system, which functions as a prop of private property and capitalist rule. Frequently acting as judge, jury, and executioner on the streets, the cops carry out anti–working-class violence and intimidation, with Black youth disproportionately singled out as targets.

According to a 2001 report of police shootings in the Washington metropolitan area, of the 122 people shot by the Prince George’s County police in the previous decade 45 percent were unarmed and 85 percent were Black.

"Voting on the first Tuesday of next month will not solve the problems faced by working people," said Manuel in his closing statement. He encouraged students and young workers "who are interested in joining the fight against police brutality, against the imperialist war drive against Iraq," and on other issues to "join the socialist campaign."

Darryl Sheppard is a member the Young Socialists in Washington.  
 
 
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