It's election day for Wards 4 and 8; and though it's not being talked about, this could have big [View all]

[Chathamization]

Last edited Wed Apr 29, 2015, 11:15 PM - Edit history (1)

consequences. The (perceived) front-runners in both wards (Todd and May) are Mayor Muriel Bowser's allies (subordinates might be a better term), and if the "Green Machine" succeeds in getting them elected it's likely that they'll help Bowser push through her agenda. To pick a recent example, the city council narrowly blocked a deal (6-5) for inmate care to be provided by Corizan, on account of Corizan's poor inmate treatment. Bowser's in favor of the deal, and if May and Todd are win it's likely that the deal will go through.

Bowser is a bit of a corporatist and autocrat (see her recent effort to diminish the power of the elected attorney general), so I'm not looking forward to seeing her end up in an even stronger position. I'm hoping I'll be surprised, but expecting to be disappointed.

I should note that DC for Democracy (our local DFA group) has endorsed Renee Bowser (not relation to Mayor Muriel Bowser) for the Ward 4 election (Trayon White got the most votes for the Ward 8 endorsement, followed by Eugene Kinlow, but both fell short of the needed 2/3's).