The Barras Report Blog

It’s truly a cart-before-horse world in the District.

FORMER DC at-large Councilmember Bill Lightfoot declared during an interview with me that this moment in the city’s political life is “an opportunity.” Is that an understatement?  After all, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Councilmembers Anita Bonds and Brianne Nadeau have all announced they won’t seek reelection. The ambitions of other officeholders, including Ward 4’s Janeese Lewis George, Ward 2’s Brooke Pinto, at-large member Robert White and Council Chair Pro Tempore Kenyan McDu

“Honoring the will of the voters means protecting voter access, voter understanding, and voter confidence — especially for communities that have historically been disenfranchised in our election systems,” Ward 7 DC Councilmember Wendell Felder said last week during a roundtable convened by the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor. The intense three-hour discussion was convened to focus on the Board of Elections’ general preparations for the upcoming 2026 primary an

Trampling on home rule has been a nonpartisan affair.

Facing the dire effects of a resolution to continue funding of the federal government approved by the Republican-dominated U.S. House of...

During the latest round of performance oversight hearings, some DC Council members have asked advocates and public witnesses to indicate...

Was she someone's grandmother? How had she fallen into such dire straits?

WHEN you have an opponent by the short hairs and they know it, gloating is in poor taste. Proper etiquette for the victor is to “smile,...

It’s all coming together, portending real trouble for DC — its government and, consequently, its residents — regardless of the positive...

THE ritual of signature gathering in the District may seem perpetual — although dozens of candidates for political office, including four...

SOME people have become accustomed to vote trading in national and local politics. There is the belief that such transactions lead to...

THE $19.7 billion Fiscal Year 2024 Budget and Financial Plan submitted earlier this year by Mayor Muriel Bowser demonstrates her...

ANY District of Columbia resident or leader who cares about the city’s political independence and the ability of its legislature to...

IT'S difficult to imagine any mayor’s second term like the one with which Muriel Bowser has grappled. It began in 2019, filled with...

DC Attorney General Karl Racine may have crossed an ethical line when he endorsed Brian Schwalb as his successor. One of four candidates...

The final installment of an investigative series by The DC Line supported by SpotlightDC: Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism...

Part 4 of an investigative series by The DC Line supported by SpotlightDC: Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism THE child who...

The DC Line conducted a six-month investigation, funded by SpotlightDC: Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism, in pursuit of the...

Ward 5 DC Council member Kenyan McDuffie is in the proverbial political catbird seat. He is the legislature’s chair pro tempore; chair of...

DURING the recent kickoff for his mayoral campaign, Ward 8 DC Council member Trayon White led his supporters in a chant: “We are going to...