Since D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced she would not seek reelection, congratulations have poured in from elected officials across the political spectrum — including from one of her most vocal recent critics, D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4). A Democratic socialist and third-generation Washingtonian, Lewis George quickly followed Bowser’s announcement with news of her own: a bid for mayor.
While she stopped short of naming Bowser directly, Lewis George framed her campaign as a clear departure from the current administration’s leadership style. “You’ve got to be focused on being on the ground, talking to residents and actually trying to solve problems,” she told The Informer. “It’s not the ribbon cuttings and the big major deals with billionaires. That’s what people are tired of.”
In a campaign video filmed along Kennedy Street in Northwest, Lewis George highlighted housing insecurity, income inequality, and federal attacks on D.C. Home Rule as defining issues for the next mayor. Within hours of announcing, she qualified for public financing, positioning her campaign to receive up to $750,000 through D.C.’s 5-to-1 matching funds program.
Her decision follows more than a year of growing opposition to key budget and policy decisions, including her vote against a fiscal plan that did not fully restore Medicaid and rental assistance. A former assistant attorney general under Karl Racine, Lewis George also criticized the District’s post-surge cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies, arguing that the mayor and attorney general should more aggressively use legal tools to protect residents from federal overreach.
Bowser leaves office after three terms marked by major infrastructure projects, investments in schools, new hospitals and recreation centers, and declining unemployment in Wards 7 and 8. Yet her final years have drawn sharp criticism over relations with the Trump administration, tenant protections, tipped wages, and public subsidies for large developments.
As the mayor’s seat opens for the first time in a decade, residents and advocates say they want bolder solutions on affordable housing, education recovery, and economic equity. Lewis George is betting that voters are ready for a fundamental change in direction — one rooted, she says, in grassroots leadership rather than top-down deals.
