Race to April 3 Primary, Bowser Ready to Fight
D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) is defending her right to remain on the city's legislative body and thus preparing to participate in the April 3 Democratic Party primary. Bowser said she deserves to go back to work in the John A.Wilson Building because she is committed to continuing the progress the ward is making.
"Ward 4 is an exceptional place," Bowser, 39, said. "Together we have brought real results to ward 4 and throughout the city. In the next four years, I pledge to keep working full-time to restore the public's trust in D.C. politics, to create jobs and opportunities for D.C. residents and businesses, and to continue to build extraordinary communities."
Bowser said she is "proud to serve you and humbly ask for your vote so that we can continue the progress that we have made together."
Bowser faces five opponents in the April primary, but she has the backing of influential ward leaders like Ethel Delaney Lee and Joshua Lopez. She was elected to the D.C. Council in a special election in May 2007 because of the vacancy caused by the election of Adrian Fenty, who represented the ward on the D.C. Council since 2001, as the city's mayor.
Bowser was elected to a full-term to the D.C. Council in 2008. She has received high marks from city leaders for her ability to get along with her colleagues, regardless of whether they agree with her or not and for her strong ethics.
She was praised for her legislative skill, as the chairwoman of the Committee on Government Operations, in passing the comprehensive ethics bill through the D.C. Council in December.
Homan Gets Fundraising Help
Republican National Committeewoman for D.C. candidate Jill Homan recently announced a former governor of Maryland is scheduled to speak at a fundraiser for her.
Homan said Maryland's former Gov. Robert Erhlich, will give remarks on behalf of her candidacy Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Erhlich served as governor from 2003-2007 and tapped an African American Prince George's County resident, Michael Steele, as his lieutenant governor. Steele became the first elected statewide Black official as a result of Erhlich's selection.
"I am really honored Gov. Erhlich is supporting my campaign," Homan said. "He understands how important it is to grow the Republican Party in urban areas by doing the hard work required to attract new voters to our values and our principles, such as individual responsibilities, personal freedoms and entrepreneurship."
Homan and Erhlich are not strangers. She worked as a press secretary and legislative assistant to him when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Douglas Wants D.C. Progress
Ward 7 State Board of Education member Dorothy Douglas said she wants to serve on the D.C. Council to "move D.C. forward." She is one of five challenging D.C. Councilmember Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) in the Tues., April 3 Democratic Party primary.
"People are tired of promises," Douglas said. "People want things to get done. We have to understand that education is the most important thing in our children's lives."
Douglas is a former D.C. schoolteacher with an education degree from the University of the District of Columbia. She has been active in the Ward 7 Democrats and the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization.
Douglas has served on the school board since 2009 and she faces re-election in 2013. Like her opponents, Douglas wants better schools, safer neighborhoods and a thriving economy in the ward.
But she said something else is needed.
"There needs to be more respect here in D.C. and as a member of the Council, I will work to see that happen," she said.
