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2. 😱 Somehow, traffic got worse

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3. Town Talker: So many candidates, so little polling

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Do you see yourself with a new career? 

4. Around the Beltway: Budget, passed

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1 big thing: 🌀 Stormy weather ahead  

2. A tragic chart

3. 🏡 The market's still hot

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4. Around the Beltway: 🐻 Wildlife back at it again

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5. 📚 Doo you read? 

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6. 🔍 Where is Chelsea? 

☁️ Today's weather: A chance of showers and a high of 72. 

📍 Situational awareness: The Nationals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 last night, snapping a nine-game skid against the team and becoming the first in 2022 to hold them to a shutout. 

Today's newsletter is 867 words — a 3-minute read.

📚  Like the Nationals, our team loves books. Here's what we're reading:

📕 Chelsea is reading "I Kissed Shara Wheeler."

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Editor's note: The first story in this newsletter has been updated to clarify that the first six storms include tropical storms and hurricanes, and that NOAA says it is possible the 2022 season will exhaust the list of English names.

1 big thing: Abortion's precarious state of play in Virginia

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2. 📬 Reader mailbag: The mask car

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3. 🎓 Around the Beltway: Congrats grads?

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New jobs to check out


4. ⚓️ Airbnb for boats

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Good Monday morning. We hope you weren't affected by any downed trees after last night's winds. 

⛅️ Today's weather:  Partly sunny, then a chance of evening showers. High 74.

📍 Situational awareness: Lidl is expanding to Tenleytown, right next door to the soon-to-open Wegmans, the Washington Business Journal reports.

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💔 Cuneyt is fuming over Manchester City's comeback to win the Premier League over my Liverpool. 

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1 big thing: Inside the fight over COVID case data 

2. 🍼 Formula frenzy

3. Around the Beltway: The old Trump Hotel’s new money

4. 🏡 Hot homes, for $379k and up

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Stop by to see who’s hiring

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🎓 Our editor Kayla is celebrating her brother's graduation from Elon University this weekend.

And congratulations to all of our local grads this month!

1 big thing: 🚚 The food truck fix

2. Commanders eye Woodbridge

3. 👍 Mary Cheh reveals Ward 3 vote

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4. Around the Beltway: Back in service

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Ward 5 D.C. Council hopeful Faith Gibson Hubbard won the endorsement of incumbent Kenyan McDuffie on Wednesday.

Why it matters: McDuffie lends his support and name recognition to Hubbard at a pivotal time, as jockeying for endorsements and fundraising in Ward 5 has narrowed between her and Zachary Parker, who has consolidated support among progressives.

The second-fastest growing ward, Ward 5 is a microcosm of the District, home to quiet neighborhoods of single-family homes and growing commercial corridors, with debates over inequality and gun violence.

Two other key names in the running are former council member Vincent Orange and North Michigan Park neighborhood commissioner Gordon Fletcher, who has support from Jeannette Mobley, a well known civic leader.

Hubbard is a former high-level D.C. government official.

What they're saying: McDuffie said he decided to endorse Hubbard after concluding she was "really the only person who can build upon the progress and bring people together." 

He endorsed her at Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast, surrounded by about four-dozen supporters, including former council members David Grosso and Harry Thomas Jr. 

To differentiate herself from other hopefuls, Hubbard said: "They keep talking about what they were elected to do. I have talked about the work I have done truly because it is a passion for me."

The mother of two cited her maternal health advocacy, support for small businesses and longtime work in D.C. government, including leading the mayor's community affairs office. 

McDuffie declined to run for another term in Ward 5 to seek the attorney general's seat. But he was booted out of the AG's race after a ruling that he did not qualify for the position. 

Kenyan McDuffie endorses Faith Gibson Hubbard in D.C. Council race

McDuffie lends his support and name recognition to Hubbard at a pivotal time in the Ward 5 campaign.

Faith Gibson Hubbard and Kenyan McDuffie after an endorsement press conference. Photo: Cuneyt Dil/Axios

Washington, D.C.

Ward 5 D.C. Council hopeful Faith Gibson Hubbard won the endorsement of incumbent Kenyan McDuffie on Wednesday.Why it matters: McDuffie lends his support and name recognition to Hubbard at a pivotal time, as jockeying for endorsements and fundraising in Ward 5 has narrowed between her and Zachary Parker, who has <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="consolidated support among progressives" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/05/12/scoop-ward-5-candidate-zachary-parker-endorsed-by-council-member" data-vars-content-id="a647937d-87a9-47f6-9247-c253259abe60" data-vars-headline="Kenyan McDuffie endorses Faith Gibson Hubbard in D.C. Council race" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/05/12/scoop-ward-5-candidate-zachary-parker-endorsed-by-council-member" target="_self">consolidated support among progressives</a>.

News

Politics

Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George is endorsing Ward 5 candidate Zachary Parker, the second lawmaker to back a hopeful in the hotly contested race. 

Why it matters: Ward 5 is the second-fastest-growing ward, and this latest endorsement shows progressives are coalescing around Parker as some other candidates seek the moderate lane in the race. 

What they’re saying: “I know that Zachary Parker is going to be ready on day one to serve the residents of Ward 5,” Lewis George says in a campaign video announcing her endorsement. 

She cites areas of collaboration including education, traffic safety, and seniors aging in place. Parker is the Ward 5 representative on the State Board of Education. 

Flashback: In March, another Ward 5 candidate, former D.C. government official Faith Gibson Hubbard, won the endorsement of At-large council member Christina Henderson. She had praised Hubbard's “desire to craft equitable solutions and build consensus.” 

Henderson won her seat in a crowded contest in 2020, running as a “pragmatic progressive” without the support of top progressive activists who were supporting a different candidate. 

State of play: Former council member Vincent Orange and neighborhood commissioner Gordon Fletcher are also among those running for the seat.

🗳 What’s next: Voting in the Democratic primary begins later this month, with mail-in ballots being sent out to all registered voters starting next Monday. 

Mail ballot drop boxes will be open from May 27 until Election Day on June 21. Early vote centers will also open on June 10. 

Scoop: Ward 5 candidate Zachary Parker endorsed by council member

Ward 4 Council member Janeese Lewis George is endorsing Ward 5 candidate Zachary Parker, coalescing progressive support behind the candidate.

Zachary Parker (left) and Ward 4 Council member Janeese Lewis George stand side by side on a street of rowhouses

Zachary Parker (left) and Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George. Photo: Courtesy of Washington Digital Media.

Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George is endorsing Ward 5 candidate Zachary Parker, the second lawmaker to back a hopeful in the hotly contested race. Why it matters: Ward 5 is the second-fastest-growing ward, and this latest endorsement shows progressives are coalescing around Parker as some other candidates seek the moderate lane in the race.

With so many crowded races and little public polling to reveal who’s up and who’s down, this year’s local primaries promise to be unpredictable.

Why it matters: The lack of polling is complicating fundraising, debates — ever try to moderate ten people on a Zoom stage? — and how organizations decide on the most viable candidates to endorse.

And God help voters, who mostly don’t start paying attention ‘til the last minute. (Pssst, that’s now.)

What’s happening: Washingtonians have the chance to pick between progressive or moderate Democrats for the D.C. Council, in addition to attorney general and mayor.

Maryland voters have no clear idea who's getting traction with 10 Democratic and four Republican candidates to sort through for governor, writes veteran journalist Bruce DePuyt.

Democrats vying to succeed term-limited Larry Hogan include current state comptroller and Takoma Park resident Peter Franchot, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, and former Maryland AG and Montgomery County native Doug Gansler.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks wants to win another term. So does Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who faces another challenge from David Blair after he narrowly lost in 2019. 

What I’m hearing: In the District, many progressives are privately conceding that Mayor Muriel Bowser will win a third term.

But that’s just a feeling, not a data point. Insiders see council member Robert White as her top opponent, even though a February Washington Post poll found that his colleague Trayon White (no relation) was within two percentage points of him. 

A more recent, reliable survey has not emerged. Some Wilson Building wags lament that we don’t have universities or a media consortium that produces high-quality political polls, as in other states.

To be fair, Robert White has produced an upset before, ousting Vincent Orange to take the at-large seat in 2016.

There are two challengers to Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau. The snoozy race heated up after former cop Salah Czapary won the Post endorsement. Then his progressive foes dug up info revealing that some top campaign officials had links to MAGA world, leading to a shakeup.

Nine Democrats are running to replace Mary Cheh in Ward 3.

Plus seven Democrats seek the open Ward 5 seat, with division among ward bigwigs over whom to endorse. 

Three challengers want to unseat at-large Council member Anita Bonds. 

One contender from the left, Erin Palmer, wants to oust Council chair Phil Mendelson.

Three candidates are running for attorney general, including two Harvard lawyers — Brian Schwalb and Bruce Spiva — with little daylight between them.

What they’re saying: “It’s never been like this before,” says Pierpont Mobley, one-half of the Jeanette-Pierpont Mobley Ward 5 power couple. Both support Ward 5 candidate Gordon Fletcher, who hasn’t caught fire with as many endorsements as his competitors.

In Ward 3, Claudette David tells me she's picking her candidate at the "last minute, because politics is so funny."

“Things come out a week before the elections," says the chair of the Forest Hills advisory neighborhood commission.

One pro tip: One sign of momentum is when a D.C. Council candidate leads their opponents in money raised from the ward. That can be tracked on DCGeekery.com, a website by local politico Keith Ivey.

"That's the single-most telling stat," progressive organizer Zach Teutsch tells me.

💬  Stay tuned: Axios D.C. will publish a voter guide soon. Town Talker is a weekly column about local politics and power. Send me tips: cuneyt@axios.com.

Town Talker: So many candidates, so little polling

Competitive primary races in D.C. and Maryland are giving voters a lot to sort through.

With so many crowded races and little public polling to reveal who’s up and who’s down, this year’s local primaries promise to be unpredictable.Why it matters: The lack of polling is complicating fundraising, debates — ever try to moderate ten people on a Zoom stage? — and how organizations decide on the most viable candidates to endorse.

The Paul Wiedefeld era has ended in a sputter, without any of the optimism once inspired by initiatives such as Back2Good and the Rush Hour Promise.

Flashback: Back in 2016, after less than a year on the job, Wiedefeld’s face was emblazoned on a T-shirt that read, “IN PAUL WE TRUST.” Instead of earning the long-standing ire of Washingtonians for his unprecedented shutdown of Metro, the Red Line-riding Baltimore native was being celebrated for placing safety above all else. 

Our region’s trust — and patience — just ran out.

Same as it ever was: New safety scandals are again engulfing a Metro general manager. This time, it remains unknown how much Wiedefeld knew about train operators' expired certifications. And there are still unanswered questions about the 7000 series trains — pulled from service in October for wheel issues that Metro knew about since 2017. 

🗣️ What they’re saying: There’s been a mix of fury and tongue-biting among the region’s leaders. Some are reserving their most harsh words. 

“No one wants to kick a man when he’s down,” one Montgomery County official put it to me. 

Others still point the finger at WMATA management, even if they concede Wiedefeld was a hard worker who never stopped trying — during a pandemic, no less.

“It’s a colossal management failure,” D.C. Council member Charles Allen tells me about the train driver certification fiasco. "I don’t feel like I still have a full understanding of what the general manager knew in the lead-up” to the 7000 series being sidelined," he adds.

🍦 Watch this space: This morning, the basically lame-duck Ward 5 council member Kenyan McDuffie will endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary. 

That could mean someone in the AG's race — after he was booted out of that contest — or in his home Ward 5, or ... who knows. 

He picked a delicious site for a press conference, though: Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast.

🎙 What I’m hearing: Council chair Phil Mendelson and Mayor Muriel Bowser have strained ties. Six years ago, Bowser cursed at Mendelson in a Wilson Building hallway, a bust-up the D.C. Council Twitter account commemorated yesterday. But Mendo is still voting for Herroner’s re-election bid.

Mail-in ballots are going out to District voters as we speak. Over a coffee this week, I asked Mendelson who he planned to vote for mayor.

Mendelson snubs two of his colleagues running for mayor, Robert White and Trayon White, who are further to his left. (Mendelson himself is being challenged from the left by Ward 4 neighborhood commissioner Erin Palmer.)

🤝 “If you look closely, her values are consistent with my values,” Mendelson says about the mayor; i.e. they are both moderate Dems. (His words: “being progressive but being reasonable about it.”) 

💬 Remember, don't let Wilson Building officials gaslight you! Reporter Martin Austermuhle recalls a Bowser aide tried to cover-up the mayor's invective. 

Town Talker is a weekly column on local politics. Send tips: cuneyt@axios.com

Town Talker: Paul Wiedefeld leaves Metro with broken trust

There’s been a mix of fury and tongue-biting among the region’s leaders.

Photo: Astrid Riecken/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Paul Wiedefeld era has ended in a sputter, without any of the optimism once inspired by initiatives such as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Back2Good" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wmata.com/about/back2good/letter.cfm" data-vars-content-id="d089ae03-a3d7-4099-817a-7ca5fdf80ef2" data-vars-headline="Town Talker: Paul Wiedefeld leaves Metro with broken trust" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wmata.com/about/back2good/letter.cfm" target="_blank">Back2Good</a> and the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Rush Hour Promise" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wmata.com/about/news/2019-Rush-Hour-Promise.cfm" data-vars-content-id="d089ae03-a3d7-4099-817a-7ca5fdf80ef2" data-vars-headline="Town Talker: Paul Wiedefeld leaves Metro with broken trust" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wmata.com/about/news/2019-Rush-Hour-Promise.cfm" target="_blank">Rush Hour Promise</a>.Flashback: Back in 2016, after less than a year on the job, Wiedefeld’s face was <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="emblazoned" data-vars-click-url="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2016/05/25/in-paul-we-trust-t-shirt-honors-metro-boss-wiedefeld-presidential-bid-next/" data-vars-content-id="d089ae03-a3d7-4099-817a-7ca5fdf80ef2" data-vars-headline="Town Talker: Paul Wiedefeld leaves Metro with broken trust" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2016/05/25/in-paul-we-trust-t-shirt-honors-metro-boss-wiedefeld-presidential-bid-next/" target="_blank">emblazoned</a> on a T-shirt that read, “IN PAUL WE TRUST.” Instead of earning the long-standing ire of Washingtonians for his <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="unprecedented" data-vars-click-url="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2016/03/16/why-metros-shutdown-might-be-a-good-thing/" data-vars-content-id="d089ae03-a3d7-4099-817a-7ca5fdf80ef2" data-vars-headline="Town Talker: Paul Wiedefeld leaves Metro with broken trust" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2016/03/16/why-metros-shutdown-might-be-a-good-thing/" target="_blank">unprecedented</a> shutdown of Metro, the Red Line-riding Baltimore native was being celebrated for placing safety above all else. <ul><li>Our region’s trust — and patience — just ran out.</li></ul>

Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh said she's supporting Tricia Duncan to take her seat in a crowded election.

Why it matters: Cheh's support is a major development in the race of nine Democrats, as several candidates jockey to break out with less than a month until the primary elections. 

Top issues in the affluent ward include student overcrowding at highly sought-after public schools, a lack of affordable housing, and expanding transit and bicycle access.

The ward stretches from quiet Foxhall Village to the busy Connecticut Avenue corridor — constituencies ranging from two college campuses to senior centers and the District’s richest ZIP codes.

What they're saying: "Tricia is smart, energetic, knows the issues, and actually listens to residents’ concerns," Cheh said about the former president of the Palisades Community Association. "She’s been involved in her local community and active in school matters."

State of play: Meanwhile, local schools advocate Matt Frumin gained the endorsement of Ruth Wattenberg, the Ward 3 representative on the State Board of Education. 

"Among candidates who care about these issues, he is the one with the clearest path to victory," Wattenberg said in a statement. 

In addition, former D.C. government budget director Eric Goulet is gaining momentum after being endorsed by the Washington Post.

However, he is also facing criticism from all eight of his rivals over comments he made about housing voucher recipients in the ward.

Other candidates are Ben Bergmann, chair of the Palisades advisory neighborhood commission; Beau Finley, chair of the Cleveland Park advisory neighborhood commission; Republican-turned-Democrat Monte Monash; Deirdre Brown, a former Forest Hill advisory neighborhood commissioner; and Phil Thomas, a former Bowser administration official. 

💭 Cuneyt's thought bubble: Whew, that's a lot of names. Even when insiders winnow the field to top contenders, five names emerge: Frumin, Bergmann, Thomas, Duncan, and Goulet. 

Also, there is no legit polling in the race, so most observers are looking closely at campaign fundraising and name recognition.

Mary Cheh backs Ward 3 candidate Tricia Duncan as successor

Cheh's support is a major development in the race of nine Democrats, as several candidates jockey to break out with less than a month until Election Day.

Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh said she&#x27;s supporting Tricia Duncan to take her seat in a crowded election.Why it matters: Cheh&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="support" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/TriciaForWard3/status/1528727572959436802" data-vars-content-id="ec23e477-8ba7-44e0-89d5-215b50ac4f7e" data-vars-headline="Mary Cheh backs Ward 3 candidate Tricia Duncan as successor" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/TriciaForWard3/status/1528727572959436802" target="_blank">support</a> is a major development in the race of nine Democrats, as several candidates jockey to break out with less than a month until the primary elections.

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Stories

Town Talker: So many candidates, so little polling

Mary Cheh backs Ward 3 candidate Tricia Duncan as successor

Kenyan McDuffie endorses Faith Gibson Hubbard in D.C. Council race

Town Talker: Paul Wiedefeld leaves Metro with broken trust

Scoop: Ward 5 candidate Zachary Parker endorsed by council member

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