Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The D.C. mayor\u2019s race is crowded. Seven Democratic candidates are dueling to succeed Muriel Bowser \u2014 a job that will mean sharing custody of the District with Donald Trump, and threading a needle between defending home rule without running afoul of the president\u2019s popular initiatives touting safety and beautification.<\/p>\n
The shift in management is certain to spark a flurry of new fates for the capital, spanning public parks, national monuments and the Metropolitan Police Department.<\/p>\n
Janeese Lewis George, one of two frontrunners in the race<\/a> alongside Kenyan McDuffie, said restorations like the Meridian Hill Park fountain<\/a> represent \u201cthe type of investment we want to see the federal government making in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy only issue is if this is one-time funding and not consistent funding,\u201d Lewis George said in an interview, adding that the National Park Service, which aids beautification, has been notoriously underfunded, and many NPS employees were fired in the administration\u2019s DOGE days<\/a>. She wants to find a sustainable way to keep the projects rolling with help from the Interior Department.<\/p>\n Rini Sampath is a federal contractor who\u2019s never run for public office, and the first-ever South Asian to qualify for the D.C. mayoral ballot. She\u2019s skeptical of Trump\u2019s efforts to make D.C. beautiful again.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump is not necessarily the safest actor in all of this,\u201d Sampath said. \u201cHe does so much of this haphazardly,\u201d she added, pointing to other projects like the proposed 250-foot triumphal arch<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as free lunch with a relationship with the president of the United States,\u201d Sampath said. \u201cWhile you want to immediately go toward praising his accomplishments, I just don’t think it comes for free. I think there’s always some kind of a caveat.\u201d<\/p>\n The fountain at Meridian Hill Park, known to locals as Malcolm X Park, shut off in 2019, just four years into Bowser\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n Vincent \u201cVO\u201d Orange, who\u2019s spent nearly 15 years in D.C. politics, said \u201cit felt like a gut punch\u201d when the fountain was turned off. Orange, the former president of D.C.\u2019s Chamber of Commerce and at-large council member, acknowledged the effort requires maintenance and funding to keep projects alive. But he\u2019s \u201call in\u201d for future endeavors.<\/p>\n Police reform has also roiled the race \u2014 particularly in light of Trump\u2019s push to crack down on crime. There\u2019s general consensus an MPD shakeup is coming.<\/p>\n Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll is likely on the way out no matter who wins the race. In a forum this month, zero of the six participating candidates raised their hand<\/a> when asked if they would keep Carroll in the post.<\/p>\n Three of the candidates told POLITICO they\u2019d remove Carroll, one was on the fence, and the other two said their lack of a raised hand was equivalent to declining comment.<\/p>\n Gary Goodweather, a business executive who\u2019s never run for public office and is third in polling, is one of the candidates in the removal camp. Why? \u201cPrimarily, controversy,\u201d Goodweather said. \u201cDrama.\u201d<\/p>\n Carroll is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by several Black female MPD officers who claim he and other high-ranking officers contributed to a \u201ctoxic work environment\u201d with continuous systemic disparate treatment and discriminatory actions toward them, according to the suit<\/a>. The events occurred when Carroll was MPD assistant chief. MPD declined to comment.<\/p>\n The MPD put 13 officers on administrative leave earlier this month following an internal investigation<\/a> into how the department records crime stats \u2014 a concern that rose all the way to Congress and U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro\u2019s office. There are also questions about the MPD\u2019s cooperation<\/a> with federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n McDuffie, a former at-large councilmember, said in a statement he\u2019d \u201cappoint a chief who restores accountability and transparency.\u201d Ernest Johnson, CEO of the Frank Reeves Center nonprofit, said he wouldn\u2019t announce his position publicly.<\/p>\n But not everyone agrees. Hope Solomon, a small business owner who\u2019s never run for public office, is the only candidate who plainly told POLITICO they wouldn\u2019t fire Carroll, who she said faces \u201ca difficult task.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a balancing act with the federal law enforcement and then pressure from Congress about policing in D.C.,\u201d Solomon said, adding she aims to boost officer recruitment and address staffing shortages<\/a> that have stretched the department.<\/p>\n That mirrors the task that whoever wins the June 16 primary will likely face come November \u2014 with two more years of the Trump presidency to go.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a delicate dance that we are playing with the federal government,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO’s Playbook newsletter<\/a>. <\/p>\n