WASHINGTON — The minimum wage, public safety and education were all topics D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser touched on Tuesday night in her State of the District speech.
“The state of the District of Columbia is strong. These days are bright … our best days are still ahead of us, and we will get there together,” Bowser told the crowd at Arena Stage.
Bowser wants to raise worker pay in her city, which is now a minimum of $11.50 an hour.
“When the council returns from its break early next month, I will send legislation to the council to increase our minimum wage to $15 by 2020,” she said to cheers and applause.
Bowser also spoke about helping schools in her next proposed budget.
“With this budget we will make the largest investment in public education in our history, with a $75 million increase in funding over last year,” she said.
Starting in 2017, she wants to do a full renovation of every school that has not yet been completely upgraded.
The mayor also gave an update on the rollout of new equipment for police.
“By the end of this month, more than 650 police officers will be equipped with a body worn camera. And by the end of this year, every single patrol officer will be wearing one,” she said.
In another public safety boost, she said more ambulances would be made available very soon.
“Starting next week, and I want to thank the council for their support, we will put as many as 30 more ambulances on the street during peak times,” Bowser said.
View the full text of Bowser’s speech on the Executive Office of the Mayor’s website.
