December 14, 2012

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Washington-area Jewish activist is running for the District of Columbia council.

Brianne Nadeau, who works for Rabinowitz-Dorf, a publicity firm that represents an array of Jewish and liberal groups, announced her candidacy Tuesday in the city’s Ward 1 in the 2014 Democratic Party primary race against incumbent Jim Graham.

Graham is seen as vulnerable because of a spate of recent charges that he has behaved unethically; he denies the charges and has not announced whether he will run again.

Nadeau, 32, was a president of the Hillel at Boston College and worked for national Hillel for four years from 2002-2006. She is a board member at Jews United for Justice.

She has been active in politics in Ward 1, a liberal enclave that includes the trendy Adams Morgan as well as historical African American neighborhoods and that guarantees Democrats wins.

Nadeau has raised $35,000 so far for her run, and plans to match the $300,000 Graham raised in 2008. In an interview with the Washington Jewish Week, she said she will focus on education and crime.

She says attacks on minorities, particularly, have risen.

Council members weild considerable power in administering the district, with oversight on education and other major budget expenditures.

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