Doni Crawford running for D.C. Council after being appointed to office

State of play: Crawford beat out 40-something names the D.C. Council considered to temporarily fill the at-large seat of Kenyan McDuffie, who resigned to run for mayor.

• She's a former analyst at the left-leaning D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, which has long pushed city hall to tax the rich and expand social programs.
• Most recently, the 36-year-old resident of Carver Langston was director of the council's Business and Economic Development Committee under McDuffie.

"I would say, of course, the word of the year is affordability," she tells Axios.

Friction point: Crawford will hold incumbency advantage in what's expected to be a crowded contest.

• Her opponents include Silverman, whose top issues include confronting President Trump, affordability and truancy. School board member Jacque Patterson is running, along with a dozen other people hoping to make the ballot.

Between the lines: Crawford's fiscal know-how will be crucial during what's expected to be a recession-like budget environment this spring.

• A meeting this week between lawmakers and Mayor Muriel Bowser showed D.C.'s "spending outpacing the revenue growth," Crawford says.

What's ahead: Candidates need to collect at least 3,000 signatures from registered voters to make the June 16 ballot.