Republican Brooke Lee Enters Race for Mayor
E. Brooke Lee dr., a Washington-area realtor, yesterday declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for mayor of the District of Columbia, pledging to fight, crime and to reduce unemployment by persuading an old-boy network of former Harvard classmates to invest in Washington.</br></br>ÛÏ1 think you have to have a life of contacts to bring jobs to Washington.Û said Lee, 64, a former Scott Paper Co. executive and the brother of Blair Lee III. former acting governor of Maryland.</br></br>In a noontime campaign speech before about 60 Republicans at the Mayflower Hotel, Lee contended that ineffective leadership by Mayor Marion Barry, a Democrat, has permitted Washington to become the . "crime capital of the world.Û "High school classes are scared to come here in busloads in the spring because of the crime,Û Lee said. Û÷Û÷We have crime aplenty, hut very little action from the mayorÛªs office. Commissions, yes, but action, no."</br></br>Lee promised that, if elected, he would crack down on street crime and drug pushers, while encouraging friends who are corporate executives to "send jobs to us" to help reduce unemployment.</br></br>He also said that in an effort to create additional jobs for D.C. residents he would encourage local cab companies to give U.S. citizens preference over foreign nationals for work as drivers.