Scoop: How a democratic socialist is courting D.C.'s business elite
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The council member-turned-mayoral hopeful. Photo: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Janeese Lewis George is courting D.C.'s business community, pitching a vision to reshape downtown's federal buildings and trying to win over skeptics who're wary of her democratic socialist credentials.
Why it matters: D.C.'s mayoral race will decide who oversees the next transformation of the downtown cityscape, amid economic malaise and the Trump administration's moves to sell off hulking, old buildings block by block.
What I'm hearing: Lewis George is meeting with groups like the CEO-stacked Greater Washington Partnership, neighborhood rainmakers like Maura Brophy, who heads the NoMa Business Improvement District, and business heavyweights like Ted Leonsis, the billionaire owner of the Wizards and Capitals whose Capital One Arena is undergoing $800+ million in renovations.
- The sit-downs are part introduction to her platform, part myth-busting about how she'd govern from the left.
The vision: 1) A new downtown development corporation.
- JLG's ideas include establishing a group to lead the reimagining of obsolete office buildings that are opening up for redevelopment this coming decade — especially a cluster of federal real estate in Southwest. Her model: the public-private Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, which rejuvenated that corridor in the 1980s.
2) More campus life. In recent years, a rare bright spot for downtown has been higher ed's sprint to open college outposts in D.C., a trend Lewis George says she'd double down on — and partner with developers to attract senior living communities around them, modeled off a national approach.
- She calls it "people first" — get more people living downtown and grow the economy to fund city services for residents.
3) Unleash the Union Station redevelopment. JLG wants to put RFK Stadium-levels of attention toward unlocking the proposal to build a 3-million-square-foot neighborhood behind Union Station and over the Amtrak tracks.
- Developer Akridge owns the development rights. Its top executive recently met with Tommy Wells, the chairman of Lewis George's campaign, who's tapping his developer connections from days as a council member.
- Also needed in the room, for that project to succeed: President Trump, whom Lewis George wants to work with on growing downtown.
Between the lines: The moves are a carrot for the sagging construction sector.
Friction point: Kenyan McDuffie is a much more natural fit for the downtown set, who remain skeptical of Lewis George's progressive stances on public safety and tenant-friendly legislating.
- "So you want to come to us and say you want to partner with us and do this stuff downtown, but also you've historically made it extremely difficult for us to operate," said one pro-business booster, who requested anonymity to avoid upsetting candidates in the race.
Lewis George's outreach is smart, that person said, getting ahead of deep-pocketed foes who're whispering about funding PACs to oppose her candidacy.
💠Town Talker is a column about money and power in Washington. Tell me about the talk of the town: [email protected]