DC’s old power class is dead

First Up

Tuesday’s D.C. Democratic primaries have yet to be officially called by the city’s Board of Elections, but the democratic socialist surge is being read as an absolute earthquake in the city. Some early takeaways:

The centrists were out of gas. Janeese Lewis George ran on a platform that repudiated not just Kenyan McDuffie and Muriel Bowser but D.C.’s whole 21st-century business-friendly ideology. Even the D.C.-based Substacker (and bitter JLG antagonist) Matthew Yglesias agreed that the old guard was done — and didn’t seem too broken up about it. “After twelve years of Bowser, the voters clearly wanted change and they were *right* to want change,” he wrote.

Goodbye Green. WAMU’s Alex Koma grabbed an astonishing quote from Bill Lightfoot, former councilmember and establishment pillar. “The Green Team is over, no doubt about that," he said, referring to the network of donors and pols that elevated former mayor Adrian Fenty and then Bowser and have for 20 years been the most powerful coalition in mayoral politics.

Hello, Purple! Instead of the longtime network of moneyed insiders, people are talking about a “Purple Team,” named for Lewis George’s campaign color. Unions and D.C.’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter (which calls its turnout campaign the “Big Red Machine”) are credited with out-organizing lackluster centrist campaigns.

Money doesn’t matter. McDuffie raised way more than Lewis George. Brooke Pinto raised more than double what Robert White raised. It didn’t matter. In a city with a generous public funding mechanism, even obscure candidates were able to stuff our mailboxes.

And neither do politicians’ endorsements. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson worked hard to keep his old nemesis, Elissa Silverman, out of office. No luck. Or look at Bowser’s election-night schedule. She made appearances at parties for Pinto, who lost badly, and Ward 1 candidate Jackie Reyes, who trailed badly.

BOE has some work to do. Voters sat on long lines as polling places experienced booboos. And while ranked-choice voting likely won’t be a big factor in mayoral results, the wait for RCV results still rankled. In his first City Cast column, Marc Fisher writes that official reassurances don’t match the low-trust moment: “Learn a little civic patience, we’re told: Trust us. Trust the system. Um, have they read the room?”

Waiting on Trump. The president, who vowed to take over D.C. if the socialist won, is at the G7 summit and hasn’t weighed in. But even without a raging Truth Social post, Donald Trump was on everyone’s lips: Had his last-minute bluster helped Lewis George? Would the right-wing media turn the likely new mayor into a piñata? Could Lewis George charm him like Zohran Mamdani did? Would she even try?

It’s going to be an interesting few months.

What D.C.'s Talking About

Tax Break for Slumlords? The miserable conditions at a Q Street NE apartment building have so enraged tenants that the District may give the owners… A tax break. D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker tells NOTUS that an abatement will give the Gale Eckington a leg up to make repairs and pay off fines, most of which the owners haven’t paid. He calls it a necessary step to preserving affordable housing. Many tenants aren’t so pleased.

Empower to the People. The controversial ride-hailing app Empower, which has been banned in the District, famously advised riders to not rank McDuffie in the election. In a statement to City Cast’s Emma Uber, a flack rejoiced in Lewis George's lead, saying the company is glad "to see DC voters make clear how important access to safe and affordable transportation is to them and to their vote." What's mystifying is why Empower had it out for McDuffie when the whole government — including Lewis George — seems to agree that the firm flouted local rules. The Empower spokesperson did not respond to questions about why the company singled out McDuffie.

Virginia Is for Weed Lovers. DCers won’t have to go to Maryland for their weed anymore: They’ll be able to buy cannabis in Virginia, too. Lawmakers and Gov. Abigail Spanberger reached a deal to create a legal market starting next summer. Spanberger had initially vetoed plans to tax and regulate the market, but signed on after legislators okayed changes including a hefty fine for public consumption.

Jan. 6 on the Big Screen. Bradley Cooper will star as a D.C. cop in a Sean Penn-directed movie about January 6. Up until now, Hollywood has had a rocky relationship with films about that day. In 2024, Oscar-winning D.C. filmmakers Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine produced a documentary about local residents’ trauma from the riot. But though the film was bankrolled by the red-hot production company A24, it was marooned without publicity upon its release, which came just as Trump looked set to retake the White House. For the forthcoming movie, Penn says the police officer is based on a real person. The AP notes that he befriended outspoken former D.C. cop Michael Fanone at a 2022 hearing.

Bezos Slams Posties. In a 2024 meeting with Trump, Jeff Bezos maligned his employees at the Washington Post, saying "the people there are terrible," according to a new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. Soon afterwards, the tycoon blew up the paper's opinion section, shifting it sharply to the right. In subsequent layoffs, the organization pivoted away from coverage of hometown D.C.

New Schools Chief, for Now. Bowser has named Kim Jackson as interim D.C. Public Schools chancellor, replacing departed chief Lewis Ferebee. Up next: Picking a permanent leader will be left to Bowser’s successor. Lewis George, who won with strong backing from the teachers’ union that has battled prior chancellors, has vowed to do away with IMPACT, the teacher-assessment tool that DCPS credits with improving educational outcomes.

Finally: This is not a joke: Alexandria’s AKA Hotel is rebranding as the Satire, “where wit meets style.” According to Washington Business Journal, the hotel’s restaurant will be known as The Wise Fool and its coffee shop is the Bad Poets Cafe. There is also a “technogym.”

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