“I don’t need to hold sessions to hear what the community wants,” declared independent mayoral candidate Rhonda Hamilton during a Sept. 22 debate sponsored by the DC Office of Campaign Finance’s Fair Elections Program. “I’ve been on the ground for years. It’s time for action.”
A small-business owner with a record of advocating for more equitable mental healthcare and statehood for DC, Hamilton is one of three candidates running for mayor in the Nov. 3 general election. Robert Gross, a member of the Statehood Green Party who describes himself as an eco-socialist, and Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist who is in her second term as Ward 4 councilmember, are the other two vying to become the eighth chief executive of the nation’s capital under home rule.
The current officeholder, Muriel Bowser, decided to retire rather than seek a fourth term
A large number of other political offices are being contested, including DC delegate to Congress, attorney general, council chair, two at-large council seats and four ward representatives — 1, 3, 5 and 6. In addition, there are four nonpartisan State Board of Education races and hundreds of advisory neighborhood commission seats at stake.
Voting started on Oct. 9. Ballots can be put into drop boxes placed around the city. Early voting will be held Oct. 26 through Nov. 1, with centers operating from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 3; polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Hamilton’s debate comment was a slap against Lewis George, the Democratic Party mayoral nominee, who essentially wiped the floor with her principal challenger in the June primary. She won 76,318 (54.12%) of the votes against at-large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, a more senior and, in the view of many, a more seasoned politician; he received 46,439 votes (35.06%) in the primary.
Lewis George and McDuffie were the chief beneficiaries of the city’s Fair Elections Act. Implementing it for this election cycle, the council authorized $12 million to be given as cash awards and grants to candidates who were certified for the program after meeting matching requirements. Nearly half of those funds went to the two top mayoral aspirants — both Democrats.
Each stirred controversy about how their campaigns operated, although Lewis George drew a formal complaint from a DC resident who accused her of a variety of violations of local campaign finance laws, not the least of which was extensive coordination with an independent, union-financed political action committee. After investigating, the DC Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) found merit in several of the accusations and levied four fines totaling $16,000 against her and her campaign.
