Opinion

District residents who have closely followed the recent debate around the start of ranked choice voting (RCV) in the 2026 primary and general elections surely aren’t surprised that the majority of the DC Council voted against legislation…

Former DC at-large Councilmember Bill Lightfoot declared during an interview with me that this moment in the city’s political life is “an opportunity.” Is that an understatement? After all, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Councilmembers…

“My kids are not being prepared to keep up with a changing world,” a parent told me at a recent PTO meeting. As I’ve talked with families and educators about DC’s Reimagining High School Graduation Requirements initiative, I’ve heard…

“Honoring the will of the voters means protecting voter access, voter understanding, and voter confidence — especially for communities that have historically been disenfranchised in our election systems,” Ward 7 DC Councilmember Wendell…

I was born in 1986. Marion Barry had just started his third term as mayor. The space shuttle Challenger disaster had shocked the nation. The Washington football team made it to the NFC championship game as a wild card. And, while seatbelts…

The longer my interview went on with Robert “Bob” King about ranked choice voting, the more animated he seemed to become. He raised concerns about the potential negative effect of that system, which allows voters to choose multiple…

Last month, on Oct. 17, the DC Board of Elections placed a notice published in the DC Register at 11 a.m., informing readers they had until 4 p.m. that day to sign up if they wanted to testify at a public hearing on Oct. 22 about…

Sometimes the swirl of contradictions and ironies in government and politics can be interesting — fascinating even. Consider that this week the DC Hospital Association selected Adrian Jordan as a recipient of its Vincent C. Gray Health…

When I first began teaching young children in the District of Columbia, I knew I had found my calling. Helping children learn, grow, and discover the world around them became my "why" — the reason I've stayed in this work for so many…

Back in 2005, after months of will-he-or-won’t-he speculation about running for reelection, then-Mayor Anthony Williams told The Washington Post that he had been considering whether he had “the energy, the tenacity, the discipline, the…

If you’ve tried to buy tickets for popular events in DC lately, the odds are high that the event sold out in seconds and you were forced to purchase severely marked-up tickets from an online reseller. On Wednesday, the DC Council…

A line of political aspirants is forming for the DC delegate job currently held by Eleanor Holmes Norton, a onetime firebrand whose heat seems to be cooling and whose age many believe makes it increasingly difficult for her to engage in…

You’ve heard the adage hundreds of times: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Many DC elected officials and government functionaries have been wearing straitjackets for…

DC’s latest results on our annual statewide test of student achievement, known as CAPE, are a major milestone, showing that when we collaborate and stay focused on evidence-based practices, our students thrive. DC students are making…

That’s the question I asked myself, after learning from several sources that CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Community Health had optimistically announced earlier this year during an internal meeting of its employees that the company would…

Most Americans, even those who vehemently oppose President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, will admit that the murder of Charlie Kirk is the most recent evidence of a frightening escalation of political violence in the country.…

Truth be told, DC home rule has been a hot mess since Congress approved it in December 1973. Residents may have acquired the right to elect a mayor, city council and advisory neighborhood commissioners. However, the DC Home Rule Act as…

Earlier this week, moments before the DC Council began debating its massive $22 billion Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Financial Plan, members took their first vote on comprehensive housing legislation known as the “Rebalancing Expectations…

Typically, at this time of year, it’s mostly crickets around the John A. Wilson Building: the DC Council has recessed, and its members have scattered to their various vacation spots. However, deep into July, Chair Phil Mendelson is facing…

There seemed to be exuberance around the DC Council’s first vote to approve an amended version of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s $22 billion Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Financial Plan. The legislature’s changes, as expected, included restoring…