by columnist Maria Fda Giron
Let’s meet one of the most controversial but interesting Washington politician: Former mayor Marion Barry. This time the Q&A Café was hosted by The Ritz Carlton Georgetown, where the guests were accompanied by more than a cup of coffee.
Degree Bistro was themed to look like a small but elegant reading room and cafe, with a small platform so the guests could appreciate the interview that journalist Carol Joynt conducted with Ward 8 City Council Member Marion Barry, Jr.
Aside from the entertaining but interesting questions that Joynt made him answer, the former Mayor of DC oozed smoothness in his cool demeanor as he answered all of Joynt’s pointed questions and shied away from nothing.
She talked about his infamous line: “the bitch set me up.” She brought up his marriage and his reported slur against Asian shopkeepers and of course DC politics life.
Joynt: Whoever becomes the next Mayor of D.C., do they need you?
Barry: Absolutely. I’m probably the most successful politician in Washington DC.
Joynt: Mayor for life. Who are you really?
Barry: I’m Marion Barry.
This character straight out of the cartoons, not only is the most influential man in politics in Washington DC, but his character and personality makes even the most indifferent of those who were there wanted to hear his answers.
As a good politician, when he finished his interview, he came out to greet and talk with some of the guests, have a cup of coffee and chill out in the lounge, while laughing and talking about his new book, a scoop on what he thought of the elections and the interestingly fall weather of D.C.
Barry called DC “the laughingstock of the nation.” And in his book “legacy book,” he hopes that his memoirs make people love him or hate him, because in his opinion, it’s about him – “there’s no in-between.” But from the perspective of those who shared that afternoon with him, everyone enjoyed it and loved it.
Note: the program is broadcast on the District Cable Network (Channel 16) every Friday at 8 o’clock in the evening and at other times during the week.
