WASHINGTON — Three Democratic D.C. mayoral candidates answered questions in front of a televised audience Wednesday evening.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Councilmembers Robert White and Trayon White participated in the debate organized by Fox5DC and Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics. The candidates were quizzed on more than a dozen issues, including crime, education, and affordable housing.
When it came to the topic of reducing crime in the District, Mayor Bowser said it was time to hire more officers for patrol.
“I'm going to make the tough calls when it comes to violent crime,” she said. “Including making sure we have the police that we need.”
Councilmember Trayon White agreed that the District could use more officers. However, he added more services should be provided by the District government to address crime as well.
“My plan is not just to increase the police, we [need to] create wraparound services, create better housing, mental health services,” Trayon White said.
Councilmember Robert White said he believed expanding violence prevention programs should be a bigger focus than hiring more officers for D.C.’s streets.
“If our goal is to keep people safe, we have got to prevent more crimes,” he said.
All three candidates agreed more must be done in the District to make sure students of color don’t continue to fall behind their white peers in the classroom.
“We know for sure that at-risk dollars are going out exactly where they're supposed to be,” Bowser said.
However, Robert White disagreed with her assessment.
“The mayor has been in office for seven and a half years and those adverse funds have yet to get to the students that need them,” he said.
Trayon White also lamented the state of educational funding in the District.
“There has been a strategic divestment in youth and this happened way before the pandemic,” he said.
Both council members also went after the mayor on the topic of affordable housing with claims she could have achieved more during her first two terms.
“D.C. has a plethora of vacant and blighted properties in our own portfolio,” he said. “We have to invest in those houses, build them up, and get people into those houses,” Trayon White said.
Robert White said more cooperation was needed from D.C.’s development community.
“I'm going to stand up to developers and say if you want to be a part of our community, you have to build the housing we need,” Robert White said.
Mayor Bowser responded to her opponents by telling them to look at her record.
“I am the only mayor across the country who has made the type of investments that we've made in our housing production trust fund,” she said.
Early voting in D.C. begins June 10. The primary election day is June 21. Historically, Democrats have usually gone on to win D.C.’s general election later in the year. However, the public won’t ultimately know who wins the office of mayor until every ballot is counted in November.