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City Cast DC

Kaela Cote-Stemmermann

How closely did you pay attention to local news this year? Take our end-of-year news quiz to find out! Oh, and no Googling!

Take the Quiz! 

Michael Schaffer

When the roster of artists slated to play the Great American State Fair was announced earlier this week, D.C.'s reaction was simple: Why couldn't we get A-List talent?

Two days later, the question has changed: Why couldn't we even keep D-List talent?

The first to bust a move was Young M.C., the rapper best known for the 1989 hit "Bust a Move.” 

"The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” 

 early Thursday, noting that SPIN had described the gig as "Trump-backed.”

More drop-outs followed. Morris Day, the longtime Prince collaborator who appeared in 1984's 

 that "contrary to the rumor, Morris Day & The Time will not be performing.” Milli Vanilli, the 1980s duo best remembered for a lip-synching scandal where it turned out they hadn't even sang their own song, declared that t

hey had never agreed to perform in the first place

The Commodores, the legendary 1970s soul act, 

: “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party,” they wrote on social media.

The most painful hits came last. Country singer Martina McBride, who actually has fans in MAGA America, 

. “I was presented with the opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” she wrote in a long, somber statement.

And then came Bret Michaels, singer of the 1980s hair-metal band Poison — and a one-time winner on 

. “Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than I agreed to be part of,” 

The internet has had a lot of fun with it, but the vibe may also feel familiar to Washingtonians: It’s not so different from what happened after Trump took over the Kennedy Center and acts started pulling out in order to not be associated with a once-neutral seeming institution that had now acquired a political charge.

Sure enough, Ric Grenell, who presided over the Kennedy Center during the artistic exodus, weighed in to slam McBride: “You’ve always been a woke lefty,” 

. In another post, he referred to the cancellations as “censorship.”

It’s not — though you can expect some political fireworks from one side or the other over Michaels’ claim that “concerns have been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family, and myself, including threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable.”

Artists have a right to associate with whatever political figure they want. But these particular artists’ choices are sad all the same. It used to be that playing at a big national institution like the Kennedy Center, or joining a National Mall festival designed to celebrate July 4, didn’t feel like linking arms with any political figure at all.

The Trump-era personalization of the capital’s symbolic core — the president was talking up his plans for the Mall even as the cancellations rolled in — has changed the dynamic so even hokey D.C. stuff now feels inextricably tied to the guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

That’s especially true for the Great American State Fair. Given that the festival is full of Make America Healthy Again content, it’s not hard to see why people would think of it as not just another bit of federal-city programming.

This change in the political valence of the Mall and its festivals, in the long run, is especially lousy for D.C. residents. We used to enjoy the benefits of capital-city events — sometimes with actual A-list stars — that you couldn't see in a regular American metropolis. Not these days.

Luckily, we can still see Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida, who as of this writing have not canceled.

Is Everyone Dropping Out of Trump’s Great American State Fair Concerts?

Local News

Get the story that everyone in Washington is talking about.

D.C. Local News

Emma Uber

Locals have refused to call the iconic D.C. performing arts venue the “Trump Kennedy Center,” even after the board voted to add Trump’s name in December and changed the signs. Now, a judge says the renaming was against the law.

A federal judge on Friday ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts building and all official branding, ruling that the board acted unlawfully by renaming the institution without an act of Congress. In a 94-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also temporarily blocked the institution from closing for two years of renovations.

"The Kennedy Center's organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board's unilateral say-so,” wrote Cooper. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”

As part of his ruling, Cooper ordered that all signage and online materials referring to the "Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts," the "Trump Kennedy Center," or anything similar must be removed within 14 days.

Cooper also found that the institution’s board had been “derelict” in failing to consider the consequences to programming when shutting down the center and called the renovation plans “murky,” writing that none of the board members had enough information to decide whether the closure was necessary. Most performances have already been canceled in anticipation of the closure that was set to begin in July — plus, the center has struggled to 

 talent since Trump installed himself as chair of the board last year.

The ruling does not prevent the Kennedy Center's board from a future closure, but the judge said that it should only do so after the board has "sufficient information to make a considered, independent decision, taking account of its obligation to both maintain and operate a premiere arts venue and its solemn duty to memorialize a fallen President."

Roma Daravi, a spokesperson for the center, said it would appeal the decision. In a statement Friday, she said that the Trump administration remains committed to giving the center “an urgent and significant restoration.”

“We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center,” she said. “With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy.”

In an email sent after the ruling, Daravi referred to herself as the “Trump Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations.”

In response to a request for comment, the White House referred to Trump's lengthy 

 Friday evening, in which he railed against Cooper and decried the center as in need of renovation. He also wrote he is going to be 'working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them,' though Congress already possesses legal control of the center.

"Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into “NEVER NEVER LAND.”"

The rulings mark a win for Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democratic congresswoman and board member who in December sued her fellow trustees after they voted to rename the institution after Trump. She later broadened her lawsuit to contest the closure of the center altogether.

"Today's ruling rightly affirms that this administration's efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law," Beatty said in a statement. "The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump. He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity."

In a separate decision Friday, Cooper denied a similar challenge to the renovations brought by preservationist groups.

A lawsuit filed in March by a coalition of architectural and historic preservation organizations, including the DC Preservation League, argues the Trump administration has already caused historic harm to the building and must go through a federal review process before any more work can be done. The group alleges that the administration appears intent on “major aesthetic transformation” or maybe even total demolition of the arts center.

The government countered by saying the Kennedy Center is not a federal agency subject to those review requirements, and that the construction plans do not indicate an intention to demolish the arts center.

Cooper sided with the government, but said his position could change based on the scale of the renovations.

“If the work is, say, more transformative than present testimony suggests or requires permits that the center has yet to acknowledge or secure, the court’s legal analysis might look substantially different,” the judge wrote.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the Kennedy Center’s board acted unlawfully by renaming the center without congressional approval. 


Trump’s Name Must be Removed from Kennedy Center, Judge Orders

The Stars may not be aligned for D.C. media mogul Robert Allbritton.

Last month, Allbritton’s political news site NOTUS announced it would expand its coverage and rebrand as 

 Many figured the name was an homage to his family’s former ownership of 

 – a paper that stopped printing in 1981. In 

 with the Columbia Journalism Review, Allbritton said replicating the full name of the paper would be too "backward looking.”

It may not have been quite so simple. According to a lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday, the name wasn’t Allbritton’s to use. According to the suit, NOTUS twice engaged in talks with The Washington Star Company to purchase the trademark, but were unable to reach an agreement. They went with a galaxy-inspired name anyway, just dropping the “Washington.”

Now, days before the planned relaunch, that decision is proving complicated.

was actually planning its own launch, led by Dovid Efune, the publisher of the conservative 

 began posting articles on Substack this month, ending a 45-year publishing drought weeks after NOTUS announced its expansion. Efune told the 

’s newsroom, soon. According to the lawsuit, having another company with Star in the name is bad for business.

The lawsuit claims the two newspaper names are confusingly similar and, since media executive Dovid Efune holds the trademark, a judge should order NOTUS to stop using the name and pay damages for infringing on 

’s relaunch had been “some years in the making.” Federal trademark records show that Efune has held the trademark since 2023. Interestingly, records show the trademark was filed by Robert Garson, one of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers, who represented Trump in an unsuccessful $50 million lawsuit against ex-

In a statement to City Cast DC on Thursday, Allbritton said NOTUS plans to "vigorously defend against the claims.”

“Six weeks after NOTUS announced that it was rebranding to The Star, a newly formed entity associated with Dovid Efune has sued NOTUS for trademark infringement,” the statement read. “The entity does not and cannot own the word “Star,” which has been used by and associated with dozens of media publications for over 100 years. The entity itself only even claims to have recently adopted “The Washington Star,” decades after numerous other “Star” publications have been using “Star” marks.”

Lawyers for Efune are pointing to Allbritton’s family history with 

 as another reason D.C. readers may be confused about the distinction between the two publications. Allbritton’s father, Joseph Allbritton, owned the newspaper from 1975 to 1978. The paper folded a few years later, going bankrupt after 128 years as a conservative-leaning newspaper. The 

purchased its newspaper plant, printing presses and delivery trucks after the closure, but stopped short of acquiring the paper itself. (City Cast DC is owned by Graham Holdings, formerly the Washington Post Company.)

The younger Allbritton, meanwhile, stayed in the media business, founding Politico, which ultimately sold to a German media firm for more than $1 billion — giving him the money to bankroll this new venture.

website within the next two months and print a weekend newspaper by the end of the year. 

 will publish under the oversight of right-leaning 

 until an editor in chief is named, and in his editorial Efune wrote that the publication will support “limited government” and oppose “bureaucratic corruption and federal overreach.” He hasn’t said anything about covering local Washington, and the 

 does not focus extensively on metro news in its city.

For the record, City Cast DC will not be rebranding as City Star DC.

The plaintiffs say Washington is a one-star town.

 The Washington Star Is Suing The Star In a Very Confusing Media Battle

Summer is just around the corner. We talked 

 about the best beach getaways close to D.C. and how to make the most of them.

Shoulder months like June and September tend to have significantly fewer crowds and lower accommodation prices. But whenever you go, be sure to book lodging a month or two in advance (or more for peak months!) if you want anything remotely close to the water.

Haters will say it’s not a “real beach.” Sure, it’s a little small, and sure, you can see the other shore across the Chesapeake, but it still makes for a great swim. Getting there is super convenient and has great views of the Bay Bridge. The only downside is the beach can stain your legs orange because of the sands' naturally high iron content.

There are no restaurants or activities within walking distance. I recommend picking up some subs and snacks from Wawa on your way. If you want something more refined, Annapolis is a 15-minute drive with favorites like 

A quick afternoon dip and a free orange spray tan.

A personal favorite, this quiet, dog-friendly beach is hidden behind a park. It’s small, but the water is shallow and warm, so it’s perfect for swimming if you’re a baby about getting in the water like me. Park for free near the Matapeake Clubhouse then take a short, winding trail through the woods to get to the water.

You’re legally required to stop at the 

 on your way back, a seasonal takeout restaurant with freshly steamed Maryland crabs, fried shrimp, and fat crab cakes.

Somewhere free and easy to bring your pup.

Technically still on the Potomac, this beach is clean and rarely crowded, making it a popular spot for fishing and crabbing. It’s nothing like the larger Virginia Beach or Ocean City, but it has a quaint charm that Ebner swears by. There’s parking, public bathrooms on site, and a public pier. Just beware, it tends to have quite a lot of jellyfish in summer!

The tiny nearby town was a popular resort town in the early to mid-20th century and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It only has one stoplight but packs in some great local joints. 

 has a sand floor with a full bar and stage that hosts free open-air concerts. 

 has stellar homemade flavors (get the churro ice cream) and 

 has great fajitas and margarita flights.

Your next great fishing spot or a historic getaway.

Now we’re getting to the good stuff: the beaches on the ocean. Rehoboth is the epicenter of the LGBTQ+ community and queens can be seen lounging in Speedos on Poodle Beach at all times of day. But it’s also very family-friendly, says Ebner, with a long boardwalk that has a small amusement park and a bandstand with free concerts.

The connecting town is picturesque, with everything from ice cream stands to bookstores. Fill up on shellfish at 

 or get some perfectly crisp calamari at 

Speedo clad queens, concerts, and the perfect Insta pic.

A fan favorite of horse girls everywhere, Assateague is a national park with tons of birds and wildlife — including wild horses. The beach itself is wonderful (just be careful horses don’t get into your snacks!) and the surrounding nature makes it great for an outdoors-y weekend trip.

 and make your way up the 37 miles of beaches. In Chincoteague town, grab a latte from 

 or get some surprisingly good Korean food from the 

 tiki hut. Camping is a popular option at Assateague State Park and can be a blast, but make sure to reserve your spot early and bring your own firewood!

Outdoor activities and wildlife sightings.

Washingtonians often say this is the closest “real beach” because of its size and 3-mile boardwalk. The boardwalk itself is complete with rides, crappy T-shirt stalls, and more fried food than you could eat. 

 vinegar-drenched French fries are non-negotiable. They've been an Ocean City staple since 1929. Down the boardwalk, 

 is the go-to for ice cream and milkshakes.

Beyond the beach, Ocean City is a party town. 

 is a classic, says Ebner. The Jamaica-inspired nightclub has multiple dance floors, Caribbean food, and tropical cocktails you can drink at a bar in the water.

“It’s a guilty pleasure of mine even at my ripe age of 40,” says Ebner. “The music is always pumping. It's a fun way to have a dance or two and just celebrate life.”

 has the best live music in town. And on your way back to D.C., make sure to stop at Crabs To Go on Ocean Gateway, which won the “

The chiller cousin of Ocean City, Bethany Beach is the quintessential Mid-Atlantic beach town. You’ll mostly find families there enjoying free entertainment and the safe, friendly beaches. Take a stroll along the boardwalk, which has candy shops, bookstores, and open-air concerts during the summer. You can also rent kayaks, paddleboards, and surfboards, as well as take lessons or hire guided tours.

Grab your mandatory hit of crabs and Old Bay at 

, where everything is served in brown paper bags on checkered picnic tables. Or head to the slightly overpriced, but still excellent 

. While it’s less crowded than Ocean City, it’s still hard to find parking on weekends and holidays. Ebner recommends showing up before 10 a.m. if you don’t want to walk a mile.

A family-friendly getaway with a quintessential boardwalk.

From family-friendly boardwalks to beachside party towns, here are the best beach getaways from D.C.

The Best Beaches Within 3 Hours of Washington, DC

The Best Beaches Within 3 Hours of DC

Tips and tricks for living your best DC life, by locals, for locals.

DC Life Hacks

Jamelle 'Mellie' Harris was driving when her elementary-aged son began to have a breakdown. He had long struggled with mental and behavioral health issues, but this time she just couldn’t de-escalate. She sat on the side of the road, unsure how to get back to their Southeast D.C. home without her child trying to throw himself out of the moving vehicle. 

At a loss, she called the Child and Adolescent Mobile Psychiatric Service.

The hotline workers were able to soothe him. Later, when she needed tools to address mental health episodes at home, the service, known as ChAMPS, helped her develop a safety plan and put together a sensory box full of her son’s favorite things to help calm him down. And when she recognized her son needed more intensive help but worried about calling the police on a young Black boy, she trusted ChAMPS to make sure he was taken away in an ambulance, not a police car.

“I can’t imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have ChAMPS to call if there’s an emergency,” Harris, a 32-year-old mother of two, said.

ChAMPS is an emergency service for children and teens ages 6-17 who are having mental or behavioral crises. Under D.C.’s budget proposal, the program would be shuttered, part of a broader slate of cuts that would also phase out

the city’s contracts with a network of community-based organizations providing clinicians to D.C. schools. The proposed changes would save roughly $7 million dollars by moving those responsibilities to the city’s Department of Behavioral Health, which operates its own general crisis response team.

In a moment when the city is grappling with teen behavior – from “teen takeovers” to viral Chipotle brawls – and conversations about resources for the city’s youth have come under a national microscope, some fear it’s a dangerous time to disrupt the behavioral health care system.

More than 150 parents, educators and behavioral health professionals from over 60 D.C. schools, as well as 45 local organizations, signed a letter last month decrying the proposed changes.

"At a time when children across the District are facing deep instability, DBH is attempting to pull students’ trusted adults from their schools,” said Danielle Robinette, a senior policy attorney at Children’s Law Center, one of the organizations that signed the letter.

A DBH spokesperson said in a statement that it remains “committed” to making services available, and that consolidating children’s crisis services in-house will allow the department to better coordinate follow-up care and encourage families to seek ongoing support. The spokesperson also pointed out that DBH’s new plan for school-based care includes telehealth, which would extend resources to public schools currently without in-person mental health clinicians. D.C. plans to spend $18 million over the next few years to establish the new school-based behavioral health program

Shaina Lamchick Hagen is a parent to an autistic first grader at John Burroughs Elementary School. At a public budget hearing, she testified that her family developed a close relationship with a contracted behavioral health specialist at the school who worked with her son to develop social skills. But the specialist recently told Hagen she will not be returning next year because of the proposed restructuring of services.

“Ms. Taylor has been a lifeline for our son and for our family,” Hagen said. “I don’t know how we are going to tell my son. He and the other students at our school receiving services from Ms. Taylor will be devastated.”

The city is facing a difficult $1.1 billion budget gap, and Mayor Muriel Bowser submitted a proposal that balanced the budget without hiking up taxes. The proposed budget also includes steep cuts to the D.C. Department of Human Services, which provides programs for housing and food assistance, and the Pay Equity Fund, which uses taxes on the city’s wealthy to fund wages for child care workers. Earlier this month, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he identified an additional $420 million in revenue to put towards the 2027 budget, potentially softening some cuts.

During a budget markup session last week, D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson said she “strongly opposed” the move away from community-based organizations and recommended $6.1 million be reallocated to restore funding for contracts with community-based organizations. She also plans to fund ChAMPS and other crisis hotlines with money from a tax to D.C. residents’ phone bills.

Her colleagues from the council’s more progressive contingent like Brianne Nadeau, Zachary Parker and Charles Allen voiced similar concerns at the hearing. Parker said he doubted D.C. had the capacity to move these programs in-house, while Allen said he worried the sacrifices made in the budget came at the highest cost to the city's most vulnerable.

“A lot has been made about how our economy is shifting and we need to adapt to recent decisions by the federal government to reduce its workforce, its size, its real estate footprint," Allen said. "Unfortunately, I think the executive has chosen to go down a path where the budget may be balanced, but it’s on the backs of those who are most vulnerable.”

Harris said that as a Ward 8 resident raising fifth-generation Washingtonians, community-based organizations can feel more in-tune with neighborhood-specific concerns. She said her sons have made progress when they’ve developed relationships with school-based clinicians, and that they’ve grown comfortable with ChAMPS because they know the program was designed in part to divert children away from law enforcement and, if possible, avoid hospitalization.

“It just doesn’t seem like an ideal time to reduce or disrupt the community-based mental health resources,” Harris said. “Shifting these services into a more strictly clinical structure, it’s not attractive to my community so it might unintentionally reduce accessibility.”

Chandler Dennard, a music teacher at Kimball Elementary School in Greenway, also expressed concern about the timing. He said some of his students’ parents have lost jobs this year and have had to move in with relatives. These children need stability at school, he said, and he worried the potential loss of Kimball Elementary’s contracts with an art therapist or Hillcrest Children & Family Center could feel like a disruption.

“If we don’t protect it now, we’ll pay for it later,” said Dennard, a teacher of 25 years. “Mental health clinicians who are in the schools know the families, know the neighborhood and can step in to support the students before the behavior escalates.”

The Council will continue to make adjustments to the proposed budget in the coming weeks. A final vote is scheduled for June 23.

Under the proposed budget, D.C.'s sole mental health crisis team for kids would be shuttered — part of a broader slate of cuts that would also phase out the city’s contracts with a network of community-based organizations providing clinicians to D.C. schools.

As D.C. Weighs Budget Cuts, Families Fear Loss of Youth Mental Health Support

City Cast DC staff

City Cast DC is conducting interviews with the front-running candidates in the D.C. primary election this year. 

Here’s the transcript from the interview that executive editor and co-host Michael Schaffer did with D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, who is running for mayor. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity. You can also 

Janeese Lewis George, thank you so much for coming in to talk.

So you're a D.C. native, as am I. And you know, you have talked movingly about growing up on Kennedy Street, going across the park to Alice Deal. Seeing how different and unequal D.C. was, I wanna just set the table. Do you think a child growing up on Kennedy Street today, like you, has a better chance of good outcomes in life? Worse chance? How has D.C. changed for that child?

I honestly think that they have a significantly great chance of success. We have more young people going to their neighborhood schools in our community in Ward 4, where I grew up and Whittier has been a blue ribbon school every year. Coolidge and Roosevelt are doing amazing. Our Coolidge students are graduating with associate's degrees from Trinity University before they even walk across the stage and get a high school diploma. We have Ida B. Wells and McFarland, and so I just think we have more opportunities for young people to go to school in their community. Right? Trusdale is doing well. Our elementary schools have just excelled significantly. 

My old elementary school was Rudolph Elementary, which ended up closing, and so I'm excited that so many of our community are going to our neighborhood schools. I'm excited because of the opportunities that now exist at our neighborhood schools. Like, Whittier's a STEM school and you have Powell Elementary, you have all these options. And middle school as well. We have all these programs, the NAF Academy. 

We finally, I think, are at a space where our schools are continuing to just grow significantly in the options and the opportunity, which is really how I ended up going to Deal for junior high school. 

My grandmother actually had served as a lunch lady there for a number of years with all the principals there, and she saw something different. My grandmother didn't graduate from high school but she saw the quality of schooling that students were getting. I think she wanted her grandkids to have that access to good education. And then it wasn't, "Oh, do we have the opportunity to have that good education in the neighborhood that we're in?" And I think the answer to that today is, "yes, we do."

It's interesting 'cause you're painting a picture and a lot of stats bear this out of D.C. on a sort of upward trajectory. Certainly, the murder rate the year you were born was a lot higher than it is now.

It is. That's right. I experienced that too.

The District of Columbia Housing Authority was a disaster. Employees would scoff at residents who had complaints about heating and stuff. But you are now positioned as the candidate of change, the candidate of, “hey, government's not been delivering for people.” Explain the distinction there.

Yeah. You know, I think a lot of the things that we had when I was a young person, are a lot of the things we need to just reinvest back in. A lot of things I think we moved away from, right? 

We're seeing in this moment a lot of things happening with young people. And when I think about a student like me, education and opportunity was my pathway to success, right? My parents are Cardozo High School sweethearts but neither one of them went to college. I'm a first generation college student. And what really set me apart was that I had access to different opportunities, not just in my schools, but I'm an original D.C. SCORES kid. Right? 

I remember D.C. SCORES' original year. I learned about poetry and Black poets, and I had got a chance to play soccer and learn not just soccer skills, but teamwork skills. I remember we won the championship against Marie Reed. It's a feeling as a young person, you never forget, but sports teaches you so much more than just, you know, winning or losing. It teaches you so many skills. As a student, we did higher achievement, which helped with homework and support. I had Upward Bound, which is for students who are first-generation college students. Every summer, I stayed on campus at Trinity University for five days and did education, did group therapy work, took classes, and had a summer youth employment job. I remember summer youth employment, standing in line on H Street and signing up.

I am running on putting people first and I do think, I remember as a city the ways in which government showed up for young people, showed up for Black D.C. residents, created opportunity. When I say "show up," I mean create opportunity. We had robust arts and music and culture within our schools, within our communities, and so a lot of what I'm talking about is, I don't have to make up a lot of new things, actually. We just have to get back to the good things that really were integral parts of helping people in our city grow and giving them the opportunities they need.

It's interesting 'cause you're saying that, in so many ways, a child growing up as you did has a much better situation now. But you're also saying we've gotten away from something where government showed up for people. Aren't those two things at odds with each other?

No, they're not. And I think that's the problem. I think we thought these two things are at odds and we are in a conversation in a city where everyone keeps talking about what government can't do in this moment. But I don't think that's the question of this moment. I don't think that's the question in D.C. or across this country.

People are tired of hearing about what government can't do. People wanna hear about what government can do. And I know that government can do much more because I remember what government did for me and my family.

Has it stopped doing those things that it did for you?

I think it did stop investing in youth. I think it did stop creating spaces for young people. I think it did go away from understanding how important it is to have equity in not only education, but in economic justice and, just so many ways in which, how do we support our seniors? How do we support our young people? And I also think government functioning well, I think we got to a space where we were growing, growing, growing, but we were not making sure we were efficiently doing things, right? I always say this: D.C. is resource-rich. We're coordination-poor.

One of the reasons I'm running is because I think we can coordinate better as a government. I think we could spend and leverage our dollars better as a government. And we know how to do it, right? And we have the talent in our city. 

That's the other thing growing up here, I know how much talent we have in our city. We have some of the best thinkers around policies from education to public safety. Like, D.C. is a city that has all this robust talent. We have all these strong things that we get to leverage, right? Universities and hospitals and sports teams and arts and music and culture, right? So this moment is about, how do we lean into the things that make D.C. great? How do we lean in and leverage those things to grow our economy, to strengthen our community, and to make D.C. a more affordable place for D.C. residents?

So now you're in the middle of a mayor's race. We did a poll this week. It showed you up slightly, but not with majority yet. And we've got ranked choice voting, which is all just to say there's still a race on and I know you're working hard at it. 

I was struck in our poll by the coalitions that both candidates have. The old line in D.C. was that race was the dividing line of everything. In fact, both of you guys have multiracial basis of support according to what we found. I was surprised at the age gap in it. Younger voters are really strongly for you. People who've been in D.C. for less than 10 years are really strongly for you. D.C. natives and older people are really strongly for your opponent. 

How does that make you feel and what do you gotta do to communicate with the folks you do have, and what do you think you're doing that is working with the younger and newer voters?

I think this moment is about: D.C. is gonna go through a change. And I think the question is, what does the change in government look like and what kind of leadership do we want in this moment? 

That's why I always tell people the greater question here is like, who do you trust to show up in this moment and fight for all D.C. residents? And I've been proud of the broad coalition that I've been able to have supporting me from Free D.C. to Karl Racine to organizations like Sierra Club and, you know, just so many people — over 22 union organizations. And so I'm really proud of the coalition we've built.

What is it about your campaign that makes it so attractive to people who've recently moved to Washington?

I think they're experiencing what I've been talking about, the piece of this that is we can make government work better for D.C. residents. I think they are experiencing that. Earlier today I was at Cardozo and Ballou because the HVAC was broken and the students weren't in school. Things like picking up trash, right? 

A lot of my legislation has been around basic government services. CLEAN Collections was about making sure our trash and the trash was getting picked up at buildings, right? And Safe Routes to School was traffic safety around our schools.

Transcript: City Cast DC's Interview with Janeese Lewis George

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