D.C. heads to polls to elect next mayor and decide foie gras ban
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D.C. voters will elect their first new mayor in 12 years today while deciding a controversial foie gras ban and seven D.C. Council seats.
The big picture: There may not be many competitive races on D.C.'s November ballot, but the city's first general election using ranked-choice voting adds a twist to the contest for two at-large Council seats.
- Election Day voting centers are open from 7am to 8pm, and same-day registration is available.
State of play: Council member Janeese Lewis George is expected to become D.C.'s next mayor, putting in motion the city's first mayoral transition since 2015. She'd take office in January.
- Robert White is expected to succeed Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton as the city's congressional representative. White resigned from his Council seat Monday because of an obscure 1970 law that required him to step down before Election Day to remain eligible for the delegate seat.
- D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb are also expected to win reelection.
The intrigue: Voters are picking two at-large council members in a race complicated by the city's new ranked-choice voting system.
- Democrat Oye Owolewa is widely expected to win one seat, while independent Council member Elissa Silverman is favored to win another.
- But Silverman's supporters worry about how the rank-choice voting math will shake out. Silverman has been urging voters to rank her first.
- Republican Darrell Green (not the Washington football legend) and DC Statehood Green nominee Darryl Moch are also running for the seat.
Meanwhile, Initiative 86, which would ban foie gras, is getting attention in the closing stretch.
- Activist group Pro-Animal DC argues that force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers is cruel.
- While many chefs stayed quiet, José Andrés spoke out against it, as did the owner of Butterworth's, a Capitol Hill restaurant with Trump world ties.
- Foie gras producers have threatened to sue if it passes.
At the ward level, Aparna Raj is the Democratic nominee in Ward 1 (Columbia Heights, Park View, AdMo, etc.), up against three challengers.
- Council member Matt Frumin is unopposed in Ward 3 (Tenleytown, Cleveland Park, Palisades, etc.).
- Council member Zachary Parker has two challengers in Ward 5 (Brookland, Woodridge, Fort Totten, etc.).
- Council member Charles Allen is running against Republican Jorge Rice in Ward 6 (Capitol Hill, H Street NE, NoMa).
Also on the ballot: Candidates for the State Board of Education and your local advisory neighborhood commission.
- ANCs are like mini councils in your neighborhood, with unpaid members who can advocate on your behalf.