Political Change Everywhere And All At Once In DC

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 McDuffie, promise to instigate a major shakeup.

DC’s congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is also expected by many to bow out. Once considered the city’s most popular politician, her current capacity to bring high energy and strategic interplay to the job has prompted even some of her most ardent supporters, such as political operative Donna Brazile, to call for her to retire.

“This has never happened before altogether like this,” said one of several government insiders and political operatives I spoke with over the past several days about how the 2026 elections could reshape the city for decades to come.

“It’ll be an entirely new government from top to bottom,” said another source, reminding me to add Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White Sr. to the mix. He was indicted last year on federal bribery charges; the criminal case is expected to go to trial next year. If convicted, White would have to leave office, leading to a special election.

And, because the field in the races on the June primary ballot, including those where incumbents are seeking reelection — council chair along with members for wards 3, 5 and 6 — won’t be known until February, there could be even more movement across the landscape. 

Issues currently being debated in the city — such as education, affordable housing, public safety and economic development — are sure to be heard while candidates campaign for the June primary and November general election. If they offer familiar refrains on these issues, some people may conclude it’s just a game of musical chairs with the same political players.

Don’t be lulled. 

With the large number of open offices, a tight local economy and the continued presence of an antagonizing and erratic Republican president in the White House, the political choices before DC residents and voters in 2026 are consequential. Much is at stake. 

Anyone who isn’t registered to vote should get registered. Anyone who is registered should pledge not to sit this one out on election day. More is needed, though: Trying to find the gold in the glitter takes work — attending candidates forums, asking the right questions, and not allowing anyone to sidestep their responsibility to provide answers.

Vincent Morris, a former journalist who has worked on Capitol Hill and at one point was communications director for Mayor Anthony Williams, is now running to replace Norton. There are at least a dozen others competing, per Federal Election Commission records: Greg Maye, Kelly Mikel Williams, Kinney Zalesne, Deirdre Brown, Anthony Rios, Gordon Chaffin, Brian Ready, Jerry McClairn Jr., Robert Matthews, State Board of Education President Jacque Patterson, and Councilmembers Pinto and Robert White.

During our interview, Morris questioned why current elected officials like Pinto and White are not required to resign from their positions in order to pursue other jobs. Instead, they are permitted to engage in what he describes as a “double dip.”

Morris also said that District voters will have to decide, among other things, “what they want the city’s relationship to be between our federal partners and our regional partners — and we need to decide what we expect in terms of how big our heart is.”

He noted that since home rule was approved in 1973, DC has had only two delegates, Walter Fauntroy and Norton. “The era passed her by,” continued Morris, adding that she hasn’t been “effective in a generation. Home rule has never been more threatened than it is now. 

“Even without Donald Trump and without Republicans, [local] elected officials have not been doing a very good job of representing DC on the national stage,” said Morris.

In some respects, Morris is right about elected officials’ neglect. But, calling himself an “optimist,” Lightfoot — like many District residents — pointed to the city’s tremendous growth over the past 25 years, casting it in favorable terms. “I think Muriel is leaving a legacy as a builder,” he told me during our telephone interview earlier this week. He cited as examples new and modernized school buildings, the Frederick Douglass Bridge, the Walter Reed development in Ward 4, and the Reservoir District at the old McMillan Sand Filtration Site in Ward 5.

“Our education system has significantly improved,” continued Lightfoot, who chaired Adrian Fenty’s mayoral campaign and served in the same role for Bowser. “Our housing stock is superb; affordability is a different issue.

“Our sanitation and sewage treatment is improving; we have one of the best health care systems in the country. … We’re one of two cities in the country that have a team in every sport,” said Lightfoot.

“I don’t see a great risk of us going backward,” he continued. “Now, we have a chance to grow into an area of human development,” where people are better able to fulfill their personal dreams and goals. 

I thought we were already in that arena. After all, nearly two-thirds of DC’s $22 billion fiscal year operating budget is spent on education and human services — the kinds of things that should enhance DC residents’ lives.

But will the resources be there? Truth be told, a major lesson from both the pandemic and the arrival of a maniac in the White House is that gains without adequate financial and political foundations can be fragile. The District’s economy has not fully recovered and won’t do so for some time. Unless Democrats win the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections, DC will remain subject to the whims of officials who know nothing about the city or its residents and who are comfortable using both as pawns in their power games.

“We’re on the precipice; we’re at an inflection point,” said Ambrose Lane Jr., founder and chair of the Health Care Alliance Network and president of the Million Man Vote, a group advocating for more involvement of Black men in politics across the country. The group has been registering many in the DMV, and members have already met with several candidates.

“Things can improve, or the District can fall deeper down the rabbit hole,” Lane said of what’s at stake in the 2026 elections.

Think about what happened in the 1990s when shovel-toting Sharon Pratt stepped into the mayoral suite, after then-Mayor Marion Barry was arrested and subsequently sent to federal prison. Her mismanagement of the government and its finances paved the way for a congressionally mandated control board.

On the other hand, things were transformed when citizens drafted then-Chief Financial Officer Williams to run as mayor; he beat out Councilmembers Kevin Chavous, Harold Brazil and Jack Evans, among others. Williams was the architect of DC’s golden and most prosperous era.

In 2006, after Williams declined to run for a third time, Fenty — then in his second term representing Ward 4 on the council — won every precinct with 57.20% of the vote, pushing aside Council Chair Linda Cropp, at-large member Vincent Orange and future Councilmember Michael Brown, among others. Things started well with the reform of public education. With the appointment of a controversial school chancellor, Fenty’s star began to descend.

Some people with whom I spoke have suggested Fenty was too young and inexperienced. A similar concern has been raised about the cache of current candidates, especially those running for mayor. It’s one reason that a few have raised the prospect of a 2026 return for former Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who resigned as his colleagues appeared poised to expel him for the alleged misuse of government resources. An attempt to regain his previous seat was thwarted. Now, however, given his indisputable expertise in DC’s finances, he is being floated as a possible candidate for council chair; that would mean he’d run against Mendelson, the incumbent.

“Phil has done a lousy job as chairman; the reputation of the council as an institution has really declined,” said one local business owner. “With all this change we are going to need to make sure there are people with institutional knowledge. Jack would be a good choice.” 

When I asked Lane what he thought, he offered a resounding “no,” although he admitted, “there is going to be some significant change.” Lane predicted a “progressive swing,” which he said is happening nationally.

The meaning of progressive is all over the place. Generally, however, when folks use the term, they point to that group huddled in the far-left wing of the Democratic Party or voters who would be comfortable in that space. It’s not clear to me, though, that the pending political shakeup in DC can be perceived as some kind of progressive revolution. 

Lightfoot said that there appears to be a “philosophical argument being debated as socialist democrats in America gain traction. It is not fully accepted by people in the country,” however. 

He suggested that the difference playing out within Democratic circles right now — between moderates on one hand, and progressives or so-called democratic socialists on the other — might be comparable to that African proverb: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.“

It’s a dispute, continued Lightfoot, between “giving a person a handout or giving a hand up.”

That debate has arisen countless times between Bowser and the council, and internally among legislators. It is at the core of their budget and public policy battles. The repeated disagreements — and inconsistent outcomes — may help explain why the city continues to deal with the same problems year after year, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into various communities and programs in an attempt to address those challenges. The improvements all too often have been infinitesimal. 

In the mayor’s race, who is the fish-giver? Who is the fish-teacher?

“You have a different attitude if you have responsibility for signing the front of the paycheck rather than the back,” explained Lightfoot, noting that the former understands more clearly through practical reality “what it means to provide for others.”

“We may learn more about this from the candidates,” continued Lightfoot. “That’s the broader debate. It’s not just about personality but how they will move forward.”

In his view, forward momentum will require finding the most effective use of artificial intelligence. He called himself an advocate. “How are we using artificial intelligence? How is it going to improve the quality of our life?”

Interestingly, as a backdrop to the progressive versus nonprogressive discussion, DC officials are trying to decide whether to delay implementation of ranked choice voting, which allows voters to choose multiple candidates for each office on the ballot and to prioritize those choices.

Some progressives believe that RCV might give them an edge in future elections. Like national voters, those in DC haven’t necessarily flocked to the far left.

Given that political reality, would a system that will allow votes for losers to rotate to others mean a better hand for progressives? 

“DC is becoming progressive. But it’s not there yet. It’s still a Southern city,” said Lane, who considers himself a progressive.

If the council does end up delaying RCV until 2027 or 2028, will progressives accept that, understanding their dream may not be realized in this unpredictable season? Who knows?

The most significant issue before DC residents and voters, according to Lightfoot, is this: “Can people running for office articulate a vision for the future?”

“We’re going to see a lot of people run for office,” continued Lightfoot, noting that the matching funds available under the Fair Elections Act has made it relatively easy for people to jump into political races. “You just need a good Rolodex” or contact list.

Some people who were in the federal government and care about public service may be perceived as optimal candidates. “That doesn’t mean they have the experience or competency to be an elected official,” Lightfoot advised.

“What we all should look for is a person who we can trust to tell the truth, to be honest, to follow the law — a person with basic competency and who understands our lives,” he said.

In terms of the mayor’s office in particular, I think we actually should be seeking a person with superior expertise and experience. DC needs more than a mediocre leader at this moment if it is to survive and thrive in the future.