The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-15)

C6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MAY 15 , 2022

BY MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER

AND JULIE ZAUZMER WEIL

Meet the candidates in

D.C.’s Democratic primary

Election Day is June 21, but voters can make their choices sooner by mail, by drop box or in person

Muriel E. Bowser

Mayor

Bowser, 49, has been mayor

since 2015 and is running for

her third consecutive term in

office. Bowser lives in Colo-

nial Village. As mayor, she

has led the city through tu-

multuous times, including

the coronavirus pandemic

and the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol; she

boasts that her achievements include investing

$1 billion in affordable housing construction

and dramatically reducing family homeless-

ness. Bowser said her priority is to lead the city

out of the pandemic and ensure that the city’s

recovery is “equitable, urgent, and impactful.”

Bowser is endorsed by Emily’s List, Democrats

for Education Reform D.C., the District of

Columbia Association of Realtors, the Small

Multifamily Owners Association, Metro Wash-

ington Labor Council AFL-CIO, Service Em-

ployees International Union Local 32BJ, and

Unite Here Local 23 and Local 25.

Bowser

James Butler

Mayor

Butler, 46, is a Carver Langs-

ton resident and former ad-

visory neighborhood com-

missioner. He ran unsuccess-

fully for mayor in 2018 on a

platform of calling for tight-

er rent regulations to pre-

vent District residents from

being displaced, getting 10.7 percent of the vote

in that year’s Democratic primary. Butler is a

former attorney who was disbarred in 2009

because of allegations of fraud and neglect. His

application to be reinstated to the bar was

denied in 2017. He is focusing on safety during

this run, saying that the D.C. police department

does not have enough officers to adequately

deal with crime.

Butler

Robert C. White Jr.

Mayor

Robert C. White Jr., 40, has

been an at-large council

member since 2016. White

says he thinks he can tackle

systemic issues such as gun

violence and affordable

housing, as well as poor

bureaucratic management

of programs such as D.C.’s unemployment

insurance. An occasional critic of the mayor,

White has helped pass laws over Bowser’s

objection, including imposing higher taxes on

the wealthy and establishing paid parental

leave, and has advocated for shrinking the

city’s spending on police, while Bowser says

more officers are needed to confront a worri-

some wave of violence this year. His endorse-

ments include the Washington Teachers’

Union, the American Federation of State,

County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

District Council 20, which is D.C.'s largest

public-sector labor union, Jews United for

Justice Campaign Fund, D.C. Working Fami-

lies Party, the Sierra Club, the D.C. chapter of

the National Organization for Women, AFGE

Local 1975 and D.C. for Democracy.

R. White

Trayon White Sr.

Mayor

Trayon White Sr., 38, has

represented Ward 8 on the

council since 2017. A South-

east Washington native and

graduate of the University of

Maryland Eastern Shore,

White emphasizes the need

for resources in his commu-

nity that are readily available in more affluent

areas — particularly in the areas of housing,

youth services and education. He has made gun

violence his top priority in office, frequently

calling attention to the crimes that dispropor-

tionately plague some areas of the city, includ-

ing the ward he represents. White regularly

meets with victims’ families, and he has spoken

out about the personal toll that gun violence

has taken on his own family and friends.

T. White

Ryan Jones

Attorney general

Jones, 36, a solo practitioner

lawyer, said he wants to

build on work done by Karl

A. Racine — the city’s first

elected attorney general — to

target scammers and price

gougers, especially those

who have taken advantage of

residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jones, who lives in Fort Totten, said he would

focus on national events that have an impact on

people who live in the city, such as police

shootings that lead to civil unrest in the

District. He graduated from the Southern

Illinois University School of Law and received a

master of laws at George Washington Univer-

sity Law School.

Jones

Brian Schwalb

Attorney general

Schwalb, 54, partner in

charge of Venable’s D.C. of-

fice, earned his law degree

from Harvard University

and defended and pros-

ecuted civil tax matters as a

trial attorney for the Justice

Department. The Chevy

Chase resident says his campaign’s priorities

include addressing wage theft in the District,

human and labor trafficking, and keeping

children out of the criminal justice system,

while using the law to help close gaps in equity

and income across the city. Schwalb has been

endorsed by Racine. He has also received an

endorsement from Irvin B. Nathan, who was

the last appointed attorney general before

Racine was elected; the United Association of

Union Plumbers and Pipefitters; the Eastern

Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters;

and the International Association of Ironwork-

ers.

Schwalb

Bruce V. Spiva

Attorney general

Spiva, 56, was most recently

managing partner at the in-

ternational law firm Perkins

Coie. He earned a law degree

from Harvard University. Be-

fore joining Perkins Coie, he

was a partner at another law

firm and headed his own

firm for nearly 11 years. Spiva said he would

expand on Racine’s work, with a particular

focus on consumer protection and civil rights.

He also sees the attorney general’s office as a

platform to advocate for statehood and to

reduce congressional interference in local laws

and affairs. His endorsements include the

Sierra Club, SEIU Local 32BJ, former U.S.

solicitor general Don Verrilli, Jews United for

Justice Campaign Fund and John Capozzi (D),

former shadow representative to the U.S.

House.

Spiva

Salah Czapary

Council Ward 1

Czapary, 31, is an Adams

Morgan resident and former

D.C. police officer and police

administrator. He says his

focus is on addressing vio-

lence and rising crime by

building strong cases against

violent offenders and direct-

ing nonviolent 911 calls to other government

agencies. He is advocating for more police

officers to be hired, and wants to look at ways to

prevent future violence, such as through educa-

tion, job opportunities and housing. He would

be the only Arab American member of the

council if elected. He is endorsed by the LGBTQ

Victory Fund.

Czapary

Sabel Harris

Council Ward 1

Harris, 32, is an advisory

neighborhood commission-

er and director of marketing

for Everfi, an education tech-

nology firm. Harris, who

lives in the U Street area and

was first elected as an ANC in

2020, said that generally she

finds herself politically aligned with incum-

bent Brianne K. Nadeau, who has been a

proponent of higher taxes on the rich, greater

spending on housing for homeless and low-in-

come residents, and greater density in the

ward. But, she said, she feels Nadeau falls short

on constituent services and in-person connec-

tion with residents. She also thinks the city

should commit more resources to violence

prevention in neighborhoods beyond those

that are the main focus of the District’s violence

interrupter programs. Harris said she hopes to

be the council’s first Asian American member.

Harris

Brianne K. Nadeau

Council Ward 1

Nadeau, 41, has represented

Ward 1 on the D.C. Council

since 2015. She said her pri-

ority is “ending violence in

our communities,” and

points to her efforts for af-

fordable housing and tenant

protections in the city. She is

the chair of the Human Services Committee on

the council. Nadeau’s endorsements include

D.C. for Democracy, the Sierra Club, D.C.

Working Families Party, SEIU Local 32BJ, the

Baltimore Washington Laborers’ District

Council, Washington Teachers’ Union, Jews

United for Justice Campaign Fund, D.C. Latino

Caucus and D.C. Voters for Animals.

Nadeau

Ben Bergmann

Council Ward 3

Bergmann, 32, a Wesley

Heights resident, is a policy

consultant. He said his first

priority is reducing the cost

of housing and child care to

lessen the burden on fami-

lies and on seniors wanting

to stay in their homes as they

age. He wants to fully fund Birth to Three,

which focuses on the development of small

children, and is promoting the expansion of

public education to include infant and tod-

dlers. Bergmann also wants a “home rule”

transit system “using the streetcar & circulator

to fill in transit gaps.” His endorsements in-

clude Greater Greater Washington.

Bergmann

Deirdre Brown

Council Ward 3

Brown, 50, is a Palisades resi-

dent and former ANC com-

missioner who owns a title

company. She points to hous-

ing, education and transpor-

tation as her top priorities,

and wants increases in

teacher pay and more fund-

ing for special education. She also is in favor of

making D.C. streets more friendly to cyclists.

She is endorsed by D.C. Women in Politics.

Brown

Tricia Duncan

Council Ward 3

Duncan, 50, is a Palisades

resident who is a stay-at-

home mother. Her top priori-

ties are issues around zoning

and planning, and she is

advocating for more housing

of increased density. She also

wants to focus more on pub-

lic transportation, such as bus lanes and pro-

tected bicycle lanes, instead of cars. Duncan is

president of the Palisades Community Associa-

tion and president of the Key Elementary PTO.

Duncan

Henry Cohen

Council Ward 3

Cohen, 18, is a lifelong Ward

3 resident and high school

student. He’s made educa-

tion issues the focus of his

campaign, saying the city

isn’t wisely managing its $2

billion education budget,

and advocates for a morato-

rium on new charter schools. He also wants to

eliminate single-family zoning in the ward to

increase density. He wants to create a task force

to examine the “major structural problems in

Ward 3 schools,” schedule maintenance to fix

these issues, and hold hearings on the findings.

He said the city needs to pay teachers more and

“revolutionize” the public transit system, add-

ing bicycle and bus lanes and expanding Metro

service. He also wants to push for more afford-

able housing in the ward.

Cohen

Beau Finley

Council Ward 3

Finley, 41, is a Cleveland Park

resident who left a career as

a federal attorney with the

Federal Communications

Commission to run for coun-

cil. He is chair of ANC 3C. He

said his first priority is ad-

dressing public safety in the

city and ultimately the “root causes of crime.”

He also said the city needs to prepare for a likely

reduction in tax revenue as downtown remains

empty and as federal subsidies decrease.

Finley