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In her first remarks after announcing she would not be running for a fourth term, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she would consider serving the District again once statehood is made.
“If we become a state, maybe I’ll come back and run for governor,” she told reporters before underscoring, “When we become a state.”
From the growing nationwide support to the 2016 referendum that showed 86% of D.C. voters were in support, Bowser said statehood was in the cards for the District in the future.
“We have more support in Congress than we’ve ever had,” Bowser said.
“The nuanced difference that I have witnessed in my tenure is that we’ve always talked about statehood, about how it hurts us in D.C. We don’t have representation. We don’t have autonomy. What the nation sees is we don’t have the two senators that would make our policy objectives nationally more palatable,” she added.
Bowser said she believes “it will take a specific carve out from the filibuster” of what she called “democracy votes, the types of things that will make democracy stronger. Making D.C. a state is one of them.”
The push for D.C. statehood last saw major movement in 2021, when the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation in support of the movement with a 216-208 vote. The bill was introduced to the U.S. Senate in January, and has since been issued for consideration to several committees.
But, as the push for D.C. statehood holds, don’t anticipate Bowser running for any other elected seat, especially that of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
“Let me be clear, I will not be running for that seat,” Bowser told a laughing crowd. “I don’t want to be in the Congress.”
Bowser’s decision to not seek reelection also came in the wake of her efforts to safeguard D.C.’s home rule after the White House’s deployment of the National Guard in the District.
She reiterated Wednesday that the law enforcement surge did not play a role in her decision to make way for a new mayor.
“We faced unprecedented action by a president,” Bowser said. “We laid out a way to get out of it, and we got out of it.”
Focus for remaining term time
In its 10-plus years, the Bowser administration worked to encourage rapid development for the District, bringing in investments that allowed for the opening of a new hospital in Ward 8 and training opportunities for in-demand trade jobs.
For her remaining time in office, Bowser said her team intends to focus on making sure the District is able to further “close the gaps between the haves and the have-nots.”
“We have more to do in the city,” she said. “But I think we moved the dial when we make sure that our systems are set up to help people get a good job, a life-sustaining job, and take care of themselves and their families in the District.”
“We have built a foundation. Others will build upon it, but I’m proud of the work we’ve done,” she said.
When it comes to advice for her successor, Bowser said that individual will have to understand “the mayor of the District is going to have a unique relationship with the president and the Congress until we become a state.”
Stepping away from mayor’s office ‘makes sense’
Michael K. Fauntroy, a policy and government professor at George Mason University who wrote a book about D.C.’s home rule, told WTOP that Bowser’s decision to not run for a fourth term “makes sense.”
“Twelve years is a long time,” Fauntroy said. “And to commit to another four years would be a really difficult step to take, I think, particularly when you consider she has a young daughter who’s certainly entering an age that needs significant time and attention from a parent.”
“I don’t think it’s a big surprise in that regard, and it’s a difficult job. I don’t think people really understand the complexity it comes with being the mayor of the nation’s capital. So, you add it all up, and, it makes sense to me,” he said.
Bowser’s current term will come to an end January 2027.
At present, some mayoral contenders include Council members Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie.
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