A PSA from DCBOE: all 55 official mail-in ballot drop boxes become available to DC voters beginning *11am on Friday, May 22*! They’ll be available 24/7 through *8pm on Tuesday, June 16*:

The House Oversight Committee today marked up and voted to approve the "DC Rejecting Oppressive Automotive Driving Surcharges (ROADS) Act" (H.R. 8801) by a vote of 22-18, with two House Democrats (from MD & VA) joining the GOP majority in supporting the legislation:

I’m honored to have the endorsement of DC’s shadow senator, and my friend, Ankit Jain!

Spoke with @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social some after this: Seems there's not much appetite for Frumin's 3% across-the-board tax hike, but a lot more for new taxes on investment income/second homes. Combined, that's $150M in new annual revenue. Also sounds like the CFO is on board with Mendo's plans:

The House GOP majority released its FY27 Transportation-HUD spending bill this morning, and it includes $100 million “to make D.C. Safe and Beautiful”; $30 million would go to @wmata.com and $70 million would go to the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation: appropriations.house.gov/news/press-r...

How ironic that RCV may very well help get McDuffie elected Mayor, when he was one of 4 CMs who voted against funding its implementation last July

There has still been virtually no public polling released for the *9-candidate* At-Large Councilmember Democratic primary! Would be very helpful for voters to know where things stand in this competitive citywide race, so they can make a better informed choice for their rankings!

NEWS: In the first public poll of the D.C. mayoral race, @citycastdc.bsky.social finds that @janeese4dc.bsky.social has a five-point lead over @kenyanmcduffie.bsky.social, , just outside the margin of error. But: Ranked-choice voting could help McDuffie more; he's ahead voters' second rankings.

City Cast D.C. also polled the D.C. delegate race and found Robert White with a comfortable lead over Brooke Pinto.

Interesting: Per a presentation Frumin gave, here’s how his proposed 3% tax surcharge would play out. Say you make between $100-150,000; you’d pay an extra $211 a year. Surcharge would being in some $85 million a year.

Some reporter should try and finally figure out if Jacque Patterson ever paid the tens of thousands of dollars of fines he owes for campaign finance violations in previous campaigns. OCF was never able to tell.

Cross-endorsing with someone who deliberately bounced government checks to the Boys and Girls Club and has repeatedly broken campaign finance last is the kind of thing that absolutely loses Doni my vote. I have no love for Elissa but Patterson is one of the most corrupt local politicians.

MONEY NEWS: @chmnmendelson.bsky.social says he's found an additional $420 million in revenue to put towards the 2027 budget, which has seen $1 billion in cuts. Some $270 million would come from decoupling from the Trump tax cuts; another $150 million would come from the city's reserves.

I really, really, really wish my colleagues would’ve voted last year to fund the provision allowing Independents to vote in the primary.

Finally got my ballot in the mail today! #DCision26

One bright spot for the District in the House surface transportation reauthorization bill unveiled last night: DC would be eligible to apply for, and receive, Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program funding beginning in FY 2027 (via @ddotdc.bsky.social)! transportation.house.gov/news/documen...

Happy to see Ward 1 CM Nadeau formally endorse @miguelward1.bsky.social, as her second ranking! “Miguel is a progressive leader who gets things done. He is also a great choice for the Ward 1 seat. I hope you’ll join me in ranking Miguel #2 on your ballot.”

A new candidate for DC delegate has emerged…kinda. Local drag queen Tara Hoot is endorsing Robert White + urging voters to rank her 2nd instead of Brooke Pinto. “I don’t have any special interests donating to my campaign: my only special interest is me” www.instagram.com/reel/DYc68gQ...

NEWS: A federal judge has denied Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White's motion to dismiss the indictment against him on federal bribery charges, so the planned September trial looks to be moving forward.

This is not cool. Yes labor is important. But you can’t misrepresent. McDuffie allies are lying about his endorsements. Not a single labor union has endorsed McDuffie. Union members are united behind Janeese Lewis George for DC Mayor including our affiliate @wtu www.dclabor.org/news/develop...

IT’S HERE! 🎉 Our new website was designed based on feedback from customers like you. Let us know what you think in the comments below! 💬⤵️ www.wmata.com

T-minus one month until this election is finally over.

Spotted in Petworth, outside the Safeway:

The GOP-run House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is slated to markup the "DC Rejecting Oppressive Automotive Driving Surcharges (ROADS) Act" (H.R. 8801) on Wednesday, May 20, which would ban DC from enacting or enforcing a congestion charge: oversight.house.gov/release/chai...

Another Bike to Work Day in the books!

A note about discourse around the DC mayoral race: I'm seeing a lot of self-described YIMBYs favor the NIMBY-aligned candidate (McDuffie) over the unabashed YIMBY (Lewis-George). They've justified this by shoving their pet issues under the YIMBY umbrella, making it a kind of centrist omnicause.

Man, I’m just glad the DC Council included robust protections for the city and taxpayers in the deal with the Commanders last summer when it comes to transportation-related investments near the RFK site!

National Guard troops were photographed playing arcade games satirizing Trump’s war in Iran in Washington, D.C.

With mail-in ballots on the way to all 478,000+ DC voters (including 85,000+ Indys), I’m encouraging folks to rank @elissasilverman.bsky.social #1 in the special At-Large CM election! She has a proven track record holding DC agencies to account and she deserves your vote: www.elissafordc.com

With mail-in ballots on the way to all 45,000+ Ward 1 Dem voters, I’m encouraging folks to rank @miguelward1.bsky.social #1 in the Ward 1 CM Democratic primary! I’ve been impressed with Miguel’s track record as an ANC commissioner and he deserves your support: miguelward1.com

With mail-in ballots about to go out to all 361,000 DC Dem voters, I’m encouraging folks to rank @lisaraymondfordc.bsky.social #1 in the At-Large CM Democratic primary! I’ve been really impressed with her background, expertise, and values and she deserves your support: lisaraymondfordc.com/about/

Results of the 2026-2028 Officer Elections (as announced by the Chair at the Convention): ✅ Chair - Alex Baca ✅ Vice Chair - Gabrielle Rogoff ✅ Recording Secretary - Brad Johnson ✅ Corresponding Secretary - Dante Atkins ✅ Treasurer - Josh Jacobson Congratulations! 🎉

The Executive Director of the DCBOE testified today at the Wilson Building and confirmed how RCV results will be processed for the June 16 primary election. We’re very likely not going to know who won the Delegate, Mayoral, At-Large CM, & Ward 1 CM races for at least a few days:

Based on how long it typically takes the Council to transmit a bill to the Mayor and then transmit it to Capitol Hill after being signed, the Youth Curfew Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-461) will become enacted law in mid-July 2026, following the 30-day congressional review period:

Disappointed to see only 2 CMs vote against the “Open Meetings Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2026” (B26-633) yesterday. This bill prevents DC residents from attending meetings between the Council & mayor, and allows the Council and its committees to shut out the public

Here’s the text of the “Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026” (B26-684), introduced on May 1 by CM Charles Allen, with CMs Brooke Pinto and Matt Frumin as co-introducers: lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/...

400 bands will be performing on over 150 porch locations from 2-8pm on Saturday, May 30 during the 2026 Petworth PorchFest! It’s going to be epic! Interactive schedule here: petworthporchfest.org/schedule

The federal restriction on how tall buildings can be in DC is a colonial attack on Washingtonians’ right to decide for ourselves what our housing policy should be. Supporting the federal Height Act is opposing DC Home Rule

Mendelson says he's also been frustrated with Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has publicly made comments criticizing the council as "soft on crime." He and others believe she is giving ammunition to the White House and GOP-led Congress to attack the city.

And yet, numerous Petworth residents (including me) are having their block party permits rejected by MPD simply because it coincides with Petworth PorchFest on 5/30! Closing off public street space makes *everyone safer*! @janeese4dc.bsky.social @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social @chenderson.bsky.social

T-minus 1 week until the DC Board of Elections begins automatically sending out mail-in ballots to all 476,212 registered DC voters! 55 mail-in drop boxes open from May 22-June 16 25 early in-person vote centers open from June 8-14 75 Election Day vote centers open on June 16

Interesting witness list… lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hea...

The three new BZA appointees’ COW nomination hearing is scheduled for May 19. Which means the earliest the DC Council will vote to confirm them (and thus, allow for the BZA to hit quorum) is on June 2, at the DC Council’s legislative meeting…

We’re getting going at the @dcdemocrats.bsky.social mayoral forum on GW’s campus: we’ve got the five top candidates (at some very large podiums lol)

Here’s the April 28 letter from House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) to Interim MPD Chief Jeff Carroll demanding relevant documents on this investigation be sent to his committee by MPD no later than May 12, 2026: oversight.house.gov/release/come...

We’re less than two weeks away from mail-in ballots being sent out and there have still not been any questions at these major mayoral candidate forums/debates regarding management style/decisionmaking authority, etc. A very important topic for the next Executive of our city!

There will actually be *seven* names on the June 16 Democratic mayoral primary ballot, not five!

Very interesting indeed! Really good reminder that the several dozen DC residents on the DC Democratic State Committee will get to handpick an interim At-Large CM in January 2027 (to serve ~5-6 months) in the event Robert White is elected as Delegate in 2026! Lots on the line…

NEWS: The restaurant industry has filed suit in D.C. Superior Court to stop a proposed ballot initiative that, if passed, would increase the minimum wage in the city to to $25 an hour by 2029 and phase out the tipped wage by 2031. Procedural and constitutional concerns cited.