OPINION:
D.C. is sitting on a ticking time bomb. The Council is considering new taxes, and the Democratic nominee for mayor, Janeese Lewis George, is a longtime member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Not one of the Council’s 13 seats is held by a Republican.
On November 3, voters can put a Republican on the Council and give one-party government a serious challenge. The people deciding how much we pay in taxes, how our police are funded, and how our children are taught need someone in the room who will make them defend every tax increase, every cut to public safety, and every step backward in our schools.
The Council heard seven tax proposals on October 16, including a business activity tax and a 3% surcharge on certain investment income for high-income taxpayers. That comes on top of a sales tax increase, from 6 to 7%, already scheduled for next October. Lewis George helped push through an income tax increase in 2021, and we should expect more. Instead, we need to cut spending first. Residents need an opposition that will identify spending the city can do without, put those cuts to a vote, and fight another round of tax increases.
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The D.C. Chamber of Commerce warned that the proposed business tax could hit employers even when they lose money. A neighborhood restaurant struggling to cover rent and payroll could still owe the city more. That is money it needs to keep its doors open and its workers employed.
Public safety is where one-party rule turns existentially dangerous. In April, MPD’s interim police chief testified that sworn officer staffing had fallen to its lowest level in more than 50 years. Since 2020, the department has lost the equivalent of two police districts. As a Council candidate, Lewis George vowed to “absolutely divest from MPD,” and the socialist chapter that endorsed her wants to cut the police budget in half. D.C. residents and businesses cannot afford to find out how far she is willing to take that agenda. The city needs to fund police recruitment and retention so more officers can patrol our neighborhoods. A Republican will vote against any budget that shrinks the force.
Our schools face the same threat. Two decades of reform made D.C. one of the fastest-improving big-city school systems in America. IMPACT, the evaluation system that rewards strong teachers and removes ineffective ones, helped drive those gains. Lewis George has said she will end it. That is reckless, given that fewer than three in ten D.C. students are proficient in math.
Parents need someone on the Council who stands up for them. Nearly half of our public school students attend charter schools their families chose, and demand still outpaces available seats. A Republican Council member would protect funding for charter students, defend the accountability that lifted our schools, and fight any attempt to shrink the choices families currently have.
Every one of these fights comes back to the budget. An opposition member can propose specific spending cuts and demand a recorded vote. If the Council rejects those cuts and raises taxes instead, residents will see what it chose to protect at their expense.
That scrutiny should continue after the budget passes. Track police hiring and departures against the money spent on recruitment and retention. Press agency heads on contracts that run over budget and programs that miss their targets. When spending fails to deliver, push to cut it or put the money to better use.
On November 3, vote for the Republican Council candidates on your ballot. End the free pass for one-party government. You pay for the Council’s decisions. Put someone in the room who will challenge them.
• Joanne W. Young is the Republican National Committeewoman for the District of Columbia.
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