Three of the leading candidates to be the next mayor of D.C. laid out their plans during a Monday debate, focusing on public safety, affordability and economic growth.
The debate, hosted by Fox 5 D.C. and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, featured Ward 4 D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George, former At-Large member Kenyan McDuffie and real estate developer and U.S. Army veteran Gary Goodweather.
The candidates are running with hopes of succeeding Mayor Muriel Bowser, who announced in November 2025 she would not seek a fourth term. The primary election is taking place on June 16.
On the topic of affordability, Lewis George said the city is facing a crisis: “People from the middle class to the margins are feeling the squeeze.
A feature of Lewis George’s affordability plan centers on childcare.
“We’re going to expand universal access for childcare so that no family is spending more than 7% of their income on child care,” Lewis George said. “And we’re going to do that by expanding our childcare subsidy, so every family qualifies for it.”
Goodweather said his focus is on housing.
“I’m going to completely revamp the Department of Buildings and the permitting and approval timeline,” Goodweather said. “We are going to rewrite the tax code because the tax code is currently making our city less affordable.”
In addition, Goodweather said he’s committed to building 50 multigenerational homes in the District.
McDuffie said affordability starts with safety, arguing that “the trust in the Metropolitan Police Department has been shaken.”
McDuffie said he would focus on appointing “top quality leadership” to D.C. police, and restore “a culture of accountability and transparency.”
Differing views on teen curfews
A contentious topic of debate was teen curfews.
Lewis George said using curfews as a tool with young people is “dangerous,” pointing to the presence of federal troops and immigration agents in the city who she said are “not individuals who are trained in de-escalation,” and “are not accountable to to D.C. residents.”
Goodweather said “the current curfews are a failure of the system that my two colleagues, who have been on council for a combined 20 years, have failed to address.” He said if using curfews, “which are an extreme measure, you need to have a defined timeline when you’re going to exit it.”
In addition, Goodweather said the District has to address the underlying causes of the teen violence, which are poverty and mental health.
McDuffie said 鈥渄oing nothing is not an option.鈥�
He referenced a fight over the weekend at a Chipotle, saying the brawl in the Navy Yard restaurant 鈥渄idn鈥檛 have to happen,鈥� and accused Lewis George of blocking curfew action by asking the council to wait. He said she 鈥減ut politics over public safety.鈥�
McDuffie argued for extending the juvenile curfew while also addressing root causes, saying 鈥�滨迟鈥檚听not an听either or. We need to do both.鈥�听
With federal upheaval, spurring District economy
With recent loss of federal jobs in Washington, and a troubling number of empty office buildings across the District, the mayor candidates shared what they would do to boost the local economy.
Lewis George said she would turn D.C. into 鈥渁n innovation district鈥� by leveraging听universities and hospitals for research and programming. She also pointed to women鈥檚 sports as an economic driver 鈥� saying 鈥淕o Spirit. We are a women鈥檚 sports听town听and we can听leverage this moment.鈥澨�
Goodweather said he planned to create a “transformational workforce development program,” modeled after his time in the military, and with similarities to former Mayor Marion Barry’s summer jobs program.
“It has a youth track, an adult track and a returning citizens track,” Goodweather said. “It will provide the education, training and the skills that D.C. residents need, to be able to organically grow our economy.”
McDuffie said he would grow the economy without displacing residents, saying he has seen cities focus on downtown development where 鈥減eople get left behind, people get displaced.鈥� He said he would create 鈥渁 one-stop portal鈥� to help anyone get a permit and start a business in the听District听within听10 days.
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