LORENZ INC. WON A D.C. contract for landscape and ground maintenance in 2010, promising significant savings to the District. It kept its promise; city public works officials were so pleased with the quality and cost of Lorenz’s work that they pushed this spring to renew its contract for another year. Then the mayor’s office intervened, a politically connected attorney for a rival firm weighed in and suddenly all bets were off. The saga, which is far from resolved, raises troubling questions about how Washington is doing business under the leadership of Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and the incumbent city council. Read full article > >

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Why did D.C. leaders venture into the weeds on a grass-cutting contract?

The major party candidates for chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors met Thursday in their first debate, scrapping cordially over affordable housing, immigration, Metro expansion and other issues. Incumbent Sharon S. Bulova (D) made her case for reelection on Nov. 8 by touting the country’s well-regarded schools, high-quality services, stable budgets and stellar bond ratings. “It didn’t happen that way by accident,” she said. Read full article > >

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Fairfax chairman candidates debate development, housing, transit

THE MEMBERS of the congressional “supercommittee” on deficit reduction have been chosen, and the panel can get to work identifying at least $1.2 trillion in budget savings. While the committee members scrub budget spreadsheets, we would like to pose a challenge to another group: those who would be president, both the incumbent and his Republican opponents. Show us your plans. Where would you find the requisite amount of savings—or even more? What, specifically, would you cut, or what tax revenue would you raise, whether by increasing rates or eliminating loopholes? Submit the plans. We will be delighted to write about them, link to them and feature them (in condensed form) on the op-ed page. Read full article > >

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Presidential candidates (and readers): Show us your budget plan

KINSHASA, Congo — The race to lead sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country kicks off this week with presidential candidates registering for the November election, a vote that threatens to spark even more violence in this nation already wracked by back-to-back civil wars, and still haunted by a myriad of armed groups. Incumbent Joseph Kabila, who first took power after his father’s assassination more than a decade ago, had appeared all but certain of victory until the opposition announced some surprising challengers. Among them is Kabila’s main rival in the 2006 vote — Jean-Pierre Bemba, who awaits his war crimes trial at the International Criminal Court at the Hague. Read full article > >

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Opposition unlikely to unite for Congo election in November that threatens to spark violence

A new redistricting proposal in California would draw nearly half the state’s congressional incumbents into districts with one another and significantly expand Democrats’ ability to win seats in the Golden State in 2012 and beyond. The state’s new Citizens Redistricting Commission voted this afternoon to release its first draft proposal for the new congressional map. The proposed map was expected to include huge changes and shake up the delegation by drawing numerous members into districts with each other — and it definitely did that — but in the runup to the release it wasn’t as clear which party would benefit from all those changes. Read full article > >

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Incumbents lose, Democrats win with California redistricting proposal

It’s pretty obvious why special elections, called when a member of the House resigns or dies, are poor indicators of anything. First of all, they’re hardly a representative sample of anything; House districts are rarely closely split between the parties, so most of what happens in specials is the incumbent party winning thanks to a partisan edge. On the other hand, since incumbency matters in House elections, it’s not unusual to find a seat held by a member despite a partisan disadvantage, and those seats will naturally tend to flip the other way once the incumbent is out of the picture. None of that, of course, tells us anything about national trends. Read full article > >

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Special elections shouldn’t matter, but they can — here’s why

Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan was declared the winner of the presidential election in Nigeria. Earlier Monday, riots erupted in cities across northern Nigeria.

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Nigeria election decided amid riots

Amid violent protests from his main opponent’s supporters, the incumbent Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, appeared set for an easy election victory.

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Protests in North as Nigerian Incumbent Leads in Vote Tally

Opposition supporters in Nigeria’s Muslim north are rioting and setting fire to homes, as the Christian incumbent gained an insurmountable lead in the country’s presidential elections. Witnesses report youths in the northern city of Kano setting fire…

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Nigeria Riots Over Election Results

Is the Ivory Coast standoff finally at an end? French soldiers have reportedly seized incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and handed him over to the forces of U.N. recognized President Alassane Ouattara. French tanks apparently entered Gbagbo’s…

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French Soldiers Arrest Gbagbo

French troops deploy in the centre of Abidjan for the first time to support air strikes as incumbent Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo refuses to quit.

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French troops advance in Abidjan

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast’s incumbent Laurent Gbagbo gain ground in the main city of Abidjan, the UN says.

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Gbagbo forces make gains, says UN

A conservative incumbent had a 7,500-vote lead Thursday in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, after a predominantly Republican county’s clerk said she had incorrectly entered vote totals.

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Justice Surges to Lead After Clerk Reports Vote Error

A fierce fight for the Wisconsin Supreme Court is down to the wire, with a liberal challenger leading the conservative incumbent by a paper-thin margin. With the vote difference in the hundreds, a recount is expected. The race between Justice David…

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Wisc. Judge Race Too Close to Call

A fierce fight for the Wisconsin Supreme Court is down to the wire, with a liberal challenger leading the conservative incumbent by a paper-thin margin. With the vote difference in the hundreds, a recount is expected. The race between Justice David…

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Recount Likely in WI Court Race