Sarah Larimer writes:
Larry Pretlow says he “lost focus” when he temporarily quit his campaign for an advisory neighborhood commission seat in Ward 8 this weekend and has since resumed campaigning.
“I began to lose focus,” Pretlow says. “I began to focus more on the criticism.”
Late Saturday night, Pretlow fired off an e-mail stating that he planned to drop out of the race. In the e-mail, the 21-year-old Pretlow complained about “OLDER People” criticizing his campaign.
“I'll MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY AND DROP OUT THE RACE OFFICIALLY ON TUESDAY,” read the e-mail, which was also received by Jacque Patterson, of the Ward 8 Democrats, and ANC commissioners Sandra Seegars and Anthony Muhammad.
Pretlow on Monday morning said he had intended to drop out of the race when he sent the e-mail but changed his mind after speaking with neighbors and supporters.
“I did quit,” Pretlow said. “I quit and it was a matter of going to (the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics) and filling out the paperwork.”
Pretlow, a college student who attended his first ANC meeting last week, is running against incumbent Mary Cuthbert for the ANC 8C03 seat. He has staged an unusually intense campaign for the unpaid position, which has included t-shirts, campaign literature and a campaign song.
Cuthbert last week declined to comment on the race. She has yet not responded to an e-mail sent Monday morning.
