Bowser not seeking fourth term as D.C.’s mayor

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Tuesday she will not seek reelection next year, ending a decade-long run in office and opening the door for another hopeful to become the District’s most powerful elected leader.

Ms. Bowser, a Democrat, announced in a video and an open letter to Washingtonians on Tuesday afternoon. She listed her accomplishments to include major investments in housing, bringing the NFL back inside the District proper and curbing a generational public safety crisis.

Her tenure has culminated this year in an uneasy truce with President Trump over his brief takeover of the police department and his deployment of National Guard and federal agents to crack down on crime in the District.

The mayor appeared to reference the federal government’s involvement in the District’s affairs when she said the city “summoned our collective strength to stand tall against bullies who threatened our very autonomy, while preserving Home Rule. That is our north star.”

“It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor, but today, with a grateful heart, I am announcing that I will not seek a fourth term,” Ms. Bowser said in her video. “When you placed your trust in me 10 years ago, you gave me an extraordinary opportunity to have a positive impact on my hometown every day since I’ve cherished the opportunity and have happily given all my passion and energy to the job that I love.”

Prospective replacements for Ms. Bowser, 53, include D.C. Council members Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie. Both have said they would consider mayoral runs in past media appearances.

Ms. Lewis George, Ward 4 Democrat, is a hard-line progressive who would resonate with left-wing voters, while Mr. McDuffie, at-large independent, has been a stronger advocate for business interests in the District.

Ms. Bowser still has a year left in her term. She will leave the John A. Wilson building in January 2027 as the city’s second-longest-tenured mayor, behind the late Marion Barry.

Before winning the mayoral election in 2014, Ms. Bowser served eight years on council. The lifelong Washingtonian caught the District on the upswing when she entered the mayor’s office in 2015.

Neighborhoods once defined by their stagnation, such as Columbia Heights in Northwest and the H Street corridor in Northeast, were fast becoming symbols of the city’s economic renaissance.

Her inaugural term was also when the District began the largest infrastructure project in its history — reconstructing the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge spanning the Anacostia River.

But the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 decimated small businesses and halted foot traffic downtown, especially from federal workers.

At the same time, the District became a key venue in the nationwide protests against police brutality following George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis.

Ms. Bowser had “Black Lives Matter” painted on a strip of 16th Street Northwest that sits near the White House, and renamed the street “Black Lives Matter Plaza” to further poke at President Trump during his first term.

The anti-police fervor of the protests gave way to spikes in violence in major cities across the country. The District would endure a generational crime wave in 2023, with rampant carjackings, muggings and the most killings this century all being recorded that year.

Ms. Bowser led the charge against some of the policing changes made after Floyd’s death, and helped produce what city leaders now say is a 30-year low in violent crime.

After lawlessness was reined in, the mayor had to worry about keeping the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards at the city’s arena in Chinatown.

While Ted Leonsis, the Monumental Sports executive who runs both teams, had celebrated a handshake deal with Virginia to move the teams, Ms. Bowser continued to court the owner about renovating the aging Capital One Arena. Virginia’s legislature wound up nixing the planned relocation to Alexandria, and Mr. Leonsis and the mayor embraced a long-term commitment to the District.

Perhaps Ms. Bowser’s most significant personal accomplishment was securing ownership of the RFK Stadium site from the federal government. The nearly 180-acre site on the banks of the Anacostia will be the future home of the Washington Commanders, something the mayor has been gunning for since early in her first term.

Now Ms. Bowser contends with the Trump administration’s frequent oversight of the District’s local governance.

The mayor has sought to work with Mr. Trump during his return, such as clearing homeless camps and tearing up the “Black Lives Matter” street mural by the White House.

But that didn’t stop Mr. Trump from exercising his authority over the Metropolitan Police Department this summer for a 30-day crime emergency.

Ms. Bowser told Congress that the federal surge did reduce violent crime, but added that crime was already trending down thanks to local initiatives. The House has passed six bills so far seeking to alter the District’s public safety system.