Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The business establishment isn’t backing him because they like Duff’s smile.
DC’s entire business and real estate lobby has consolidated behind McDuffie.
Opportunity DC, a super PAC backed by real estate executives and large donors, spent heavily to elect him to the at-large seat in 2022, unseating the progressive incumbent Elissa Silverman.

These groups don’t back candidates out of civic spirit. They back candidates they believe will govern in their interest. When the chain restaurants lobby, the real estate lobby, and the business establishment all line up behind the same person, the reasonable question is: who is he going to govern for?

Why is "business" a bad word?

Business isn't the problem, it's 'business in DC' which is cronyist, developer-serving, rent-seeking, anti-consumer, lobbyist-political-industrial-complex BS.

If you like Doug Jemal, you'll love McDuffie. If you like how the 'lottery contract' went you are part of the DC 'business culture.' If you love Washington Gas, remember that's where Brandon Todd went after JLG beat him in Ward 4.

That's 'business' 'round here.

But business in DC is also billions of dollars of investment that lead to higher tax revenues, fewer empty buildings and storefronts, and more jobs. Yes McDuffie has a cronyism and corruption problem. But I do want a mayor who is genuinely focused on bringing business into DC. All of our problems are going to get much worse if our economy tanks, and we are actually in a precarious place right now due to DOGE and inflation pressure. There are advantages to having a mayor who is viewed as friendly to business in this environment. And there are also disadvantages to having a mayor viewed as hostile to business at a time when a lot of companies are already skeptical that DC is a good investment.

This is a key difference between DC and NY and one of the reasons why billing JLG as DC's Mamdani is questionable to me. Mamdani has more freedom to go after big business in NY because NY is, economically, very strong. And they are a bigger city with more economic power to begin with. NYC has annual tax revenues of over 80 billion. DC's are right around 12 billion. So when Mamdani says he's going to stand up to big business by, for instance, forcing Amazon to pay fines for letting their trucks idle in the city, he does so from a place of very real power and leverage. DC doesn't come close. Economically, we're a lot more like St. Louis or New Orleans than like NY or SF. And that makes it a lot harder to have a mayor who is openly anti-business. And frankly a little dangerous.

Good luck accomplishing progressive policy positions on housing and education if, for instance, the RFK redevelopment doesn't go well. We need a mayor who will make sure the city keeps growing economically.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The business establishment isn’t backing him because they like Duff’s smile.
DC’s entire business and real estate lobby has consolidated behind McDuffie.
Opportunity DC, a super PAC backed by real estate executives and large donors, spent heavily to elect him to the at-large seat in 2022, unseating the progressive incumbent Elissa Silverman.

These groups don’t back candidates out of civic spirit. They back candidates they believe will govern in their interest. When the chain restaurants lobby, the real estate lobby, and the business establishment all line up behind the same person, the reasonable question is: who is he going to govern for?

How do you not understand that this EXACTLY the criticism of JLG being made in this thread regarding her adherence to WTU dogma? And also the people who defend McDuffie's business ties do so in the exact same way that people defend JLG's special interest relationships. They'll say "well, what's wrong with business and real estate? don't we want the city to be friendly to business interests in order to encourage economic development that leads to jobs, tax dollars, and more civic spirit?" And yes, there's cynicism in this argument but there is also truth -- I do actually want a mayor who will seek to advance economic investment in the city, and who will make the city more attractive to (gasp!) real estate developers and businesses of all size who are willing to put money into the city, hire people, and make this a good place to live.

I don't like Kenyon McDuffie, but this cynical argument is actually more compelling to me than the idea that JLG will magically be better on education because she sits in the back pocket of a teachers union that I can assure you has not always worked in the best interests of my kids or my family.

I'm confused as to why you think a teachers union is set up to work for the best interest of YOUR kids and family. A teachers union is in place to advocate for labor rights for educators- such as negotiating salaries, improving work environments for them, etc. Secondly, are you that narcissistic to believe that everything should always work in the favor of your kids and your family? That's not the way life works- the world doesn't revolve around you and you don't get what you want 100% of the time. This is what it means to live in a community.

NP but that PP doesn't think that the WTU exists to serve their kids' best interests - that's their point. So people in this thread repeatedly screaming "YOU HATE TEACHERS" if anyone pushes back against the WTU's positions are very, very dumb. Teachers are entitled to a union that supports their labor rights, but they're not entitled to anyone who has other priorities being demonized because the teachers union is not their moral compass.

Agreed with previous person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The business establishment isn’t backing him because they like Duff’s smile.
DC’s entire business and real estate lobby has consolidated behind McDuffie.
Opportunity DC, a super PAC backed by real estate executives and large donors, spent heavily to elect him to the at-large seat in 2022, unseating the progressive incumbent Elissa Silverman.

These groups don’t back candidates out of civic spirit. They back candidates they believe will govern in their interest. When the chain restaurants lobby, the real estate lobby, and the business establishment all line up behind the same person, the reasonable question is: who is he going to govern for?

How do you not understand that this EXACTLY the criticism of JLG being made in this thread regarding her adherence to WTU dogma? And also the people who defend McDuffie's business ties do so in the exact same way that people defend JLG's special interest relationships. They'll say "well, what's wrong with business and real estate? don't we want the city to be friendly to business interests in order to encourage economic development that leads to jobs, tax dollars, and more civic spirit?" And yes, there's cynicism in this argument but there is also truth -- I do actually want a mayor who will seek to advance economic investment in the city, and who will make the city more attractive to (gasp!) real estate developers and businesses of all size who are willing to put money into the city, hire people, and make this a good place to live.

I don't like Kenyon McDuffie, but this cynical argument is actually more compelling to me than the idea that JLG will magically be better on education because she sits in the back pocket of a teachers union that I can assure you has not always worked in the best interests of my kids or my family.

I'm confused as to why you think a teachers union is set up to work for the best interest of YOUR kids and family. A teachers union is in place to advocate for labor rights for educators- such as negotiating salaries, improving work environments for them, etc. Secondly, are you that narcissistic to believe that everything should always work in the favor of your kids and your family? That's not the way life works- the world doesn't revolve around you and you don't get what you want 100% of the time. This is what it means to live in a community.

For the record, neither have said anything material on education.

Neither candidate has had to campaign on much of anything because until like the last two weeks, McDuffie has run the sleepiest campaign I can remember. My mind isn’t made up at all, but he barely seems interested in being mayor

Here are the two main candidate's responses to the question on education in WTOP's candidate questionnaire:

McDuffie:

My top education priorities are ending school overcrowding, reversing chronic absenteeism, and delivering on the promise of special education.

On overcrowding, I will deliver better schools in every neighborhood so students no longer have to compete in a lottery system and get bussed across the city just to access a quality education. Every child deserves a great school in their own neighborhood, and my capital investments will make that possible.

On chronic absenteeism, intervention must begin the moment a student starts missing school, not after the pattern is already entrenched. That means coordinating schools, families, social workers and community partners to address the root causes underneath missed days, including housing instability, transportation gaps and unmet health and mental health needs. I will fund dedicated attendance counselors in every school and hold principals accountable for early outreach.

On special education, every child with an IEP deserves a fully resourced, staffed and implemented program. I will hold OSSE, DCPS, and charter LEAs accountable for federal and local compliance. Audits will be regular, findings will be public, and noncompliance will carry real consequences. No family should have to fight the school system to get their child what the law already guarantees.

JLG:

Every child should have access to a wonderful public education. Our schools should teach young people to master writing, math, social studies, and more. But we have work to do to make that the reality for all students.

D.C. was just ranked first in the nation in academic growth in both math and reading by the Education Scorecard. We will build on what is already working and improve what isn’t, including helping those still falling behind.

D.C.’s high rates of truancy and chronic absenteeism are unacceptable. I will simplify the truancy system by unifying it and tasking one agency with the responsibility of navigating truancy referrals. I will expand after-school programming in all eight Wards because I know firsthand how critical safe, enriching programming is for young people.

I will also ensure that students have the support they need to stay in school, including special education services, school-based mental health, and sufficiently staffed schools. I know quality education starts with people, so it’s important to expand the workforce at schools to ensure there are enough professionals to meet the needs of all students.

TBH, there is very little daylight between them. They are both prioritizing truancy/absenteeism, but their proposals are different. JLG wants to centralize truancy enforcement in a single agency whereas McDuffie is proposing the opposite - ensuring every school has its own truancy officer and focusing on getting principals to respond sooner to absenteeism.

I actually think we should do both, because truancy is both an individual problem and a system-wide problem. I am skeptical of JLG's proposal simply because my experience with DC government is that centralized agencies like that quickly become unaccountable to anyone and don't do anything (good morning Department of General Services, let me know how those maintenance requests from 2021 are coming along) but at least in theory there are advantages to centralizing truancy services because they could better track kids across the system (lining up school absences, juvenile justice engagement, and social work interventions to get a better idea of why a kid isn't in school and try to solve it). But if I had to guess which of these would result in more kids actually showing up to school, it's McDuffie's proposal. Because schools are so much more effective at actually interfacing with families. They need more resources for doing so, and it's really frustrating how anything's DC expects schools to do, but the truth is it's because they do a better job of it.

The rest of this is probably just rhetoric (as in won't result in actual policy) but I find McDuffie's more substantive. He is overestimating the degree to which capital improvements to schools results in more in-bound attendance, but I support the goal of minimizing reliance on the lottery by providing quality neighborhood schools. As a lottery family who really wishes we could just send our kids to the school up the street without jeopardizing their safety and education, that resonates with me. And I appreciate that he's at least paying lip service sot addressing failures in the special ed system, though I am skeptical he'd do anything with it.

But JLG doesn't even identify clear policy priorities in this way. Other than the truancy initiative, her statement on schools is very generic. And her truancy initiative is also her top response on the subject of juvenile crime, whereas McDuffie supports the curfew, as do I, and I think his statements on crime in general are a lot more responsive than JLG. He also identifies safety as one of his top three priorities as mayor. That matters to me as a parent and a resident, and one of my biggest concerns about JLG is that she will be "do nothing" on crime issues at a time when I feel like we are finally crawling out of the post-Covid crisis.

I don't love either of them, but when I line them up on issues, I think I lean McDuffie. Ugh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. She fought to put a librarian in every DCPS school.
2. She passed the Safe Routes to School Act
3. She introduced the Work Order Integrity Act
4. She championed conflict resolution education in every school
5. She secured $18 million for Whittier Elementary School
When Whittier Elementary in Ward 4 needed renovations, she secured $18 million in the FY25 budget for a temporary learning space so students wouldn’t be displaced without support. She also introduced the Swing Space Transportation Support Act, requiring DCPS to provide transportation to students relocated to swing spaces - because it’s not enough to find a temporary building if kids can’t get there.
6. She fought alongside WTU for teacher pay and fair contracts - THIS IS WHY WE (TEACHERS) endorse her. NOT because she will be a puppet, she will be a LEADER.
7. She supports equity in funding for both charters and dcps. What she doesn’t support is opening more (lobby-backed) charters in W7/8.

Duffle on the other hand hasn’t done anything at all. His words are all talk - the truth is he will add to the corruption of DC.

Does she support all teachers? Seems like she strongly supports union teachers but they are probably less than 50%. This is worrisome to me.

You do realize some of these benefited charters right…

Yes. Some charters have separate unions but the WTU does not support charter or private schools and actively lobbies to get less funding for charters.

https://capitalcommonsense.substack.com/p/im-a-dcps-parent-janeese-lewis-georges

"I'm a DCPS Parent. Here's Why Janeese Lewis George's Big Education Plan Worries Me."

"The problem is that, for seemingly well-meaning but misguided reasons, Lewis George is planning to dismantle successful education reforms that have helped the District achieve more than a decade of progress on math and reading. Above all, she has said she wants to “end” IMPACT, the pay-for-performance system in place since 2009 that rewards our best teachers with large bonuses while cutting loose our worst.

Lewis George has only offered a fuzzy outline of how she’d replace today’s system. But her public statements suggest we could wind up with a weaker alternative that puts less emphasis on concrete measures of student success."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm having a really hard time with this election, I have serious reservations about both of these candidates.

We are a family that put our kids in both DCPS and charter, and want robust, challenging classes and well-supported teachers.

Let's start a thread -- i would love to hear from people about their experiences with JLG and McDuffie on schools.

McDuffie is disqualified from being considered because BOTH of his kids were/are at GDS. So not just any private school but the most exclusive, expensive school in the area.

JLG doesn't have a kid in DC publics either.

Would McDuffie be a better politician if he performatively put his kids in DCPS even though is family can afford to send their kids to private? I'm not saying he'll be good on education but the idea that he'd be better on education if he just pandered to you better is silly. Also the distinction you are making here that somehow if his kids went to a different private school, that would be better? Girl, sit down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The business establishment isn’t backing him because they like Duff’s smile.
DC’s entire business and real estate lobby has consolidated behind McDuffie.
Opportunity DC, a super PAC backed by real estate executives and large donors, spent heavily to elect him to the at-large seat in 2022, unseating the progressive incumbent Elissa Silverman.

These groups don’t back candidates out of civic spirit. They back candidates they believe will govern in their interest. When the chain restaurants lobby, the real estate lobby, and the business establishment all line up behind the same person, the reasonable question is: who is he going to govern for?

Why is "business" a bad word?

Business isn't the problem, it's 'business in DC' which is cronyist, developer-serving, rent-seeking, anti-consumer, lobbyist-political-industrial-complex BS.

If you like Doug Jemal, you'll love McDuffie. If you like how the 'lottery contract' went you are part of the DC 'business culture.' If you love Washington Gas, remember that's where Brandon Todd went after JLG beat him in Ward 4.

That's 'business' 'round here.

Anonymous wrote:The business establishment isn’t backing him because they like Duff’s smile.
DC’s entire business and real estate lobby has consolidated behind McDuffie.
Opportunity DC, a super PAC backed by real estate executives and large donors, spent heavily to elect him to the at-large seat in 2022, unseating the progressive incumbent Elissa Silverman.

These groups don’t back candidates out of civic spirit. They back candidates they believe will govern in their interest. When the chain restaurants lobby, the real estate lobby, and the business establishment all line up behind the same person, the reasonable question is: who is he going to govern for?

How do you not understand that this EXACTLY the criticism of JLG being made in this thread regarding her adherence to WTU dogma? And also the people who defend McDuffie's business ties do so in the exact same way that people defend JLG's special interest relationships. They'll say "well, what's wrong with business and real estate? don't we want the city to be friendly to business interests in order to encourage economic development that leads to jobs, tax dollars, and more civic spirit?" And yes, there's cynicism in this argument but there is also truth -- I do actually want a mayor who will seek to advance economic investment in the city, and who will make the city more attractive to (gasp!) real estate developers and businesses of all size who are willing to put money into the city, hire people, and make this a good place to live.

I don't like Kenyon McDuffie, but this cynical argument is actually more compelling to me than the idea that JLG will magically be better on education because she sits in the back pocket of a teachers union that I can assure you has not always worked in the best interests of my kids or my family.

Anonymous wrote:Mayor Bowser has “always supported” Kenyan McDuffie, she told Axios, stopping just short of a formal endorsement only because she says she’s “stepping off the political stage.”

Opportunity DC, which backed Bowser for years and helped elect McDuffie in 2022, has continued spending in this race cycle.
Bowser’s approval rating fell below 50% for the first time during her tenure. Her legacy is defined by DC’s affordability crisis, chronic absenteeism in schools, an underfunded social safety net, and a cozy relationship with the city’s real estate and business class.

You can scream all you want that it’s taking away from talking about JLG. In that case state that you don’t support McDuffie explicitly because it just makes it look like you are desperately trying to discredit her and distract. very Trump.

What does “affordability crisis” mean? Rent hasn’t even kept up with inflation, it’s actually cheaper to live here than 7 years ago in real terms, and immediately after COVID was cheaper in nominal terms as well. Is DC’s CPI larger than other places? Doesn’t appear so.

Anonymous wrote:I'm having a really hard time with this election, I have serious reservations about both of these candidates.

We are a family that put our kids in both DCPS and charter, and want robust, challenging classes and well-supported teachers.

Let's start a thread -- i would love to hear from people about their experiences with JLG and McDuffie on schools.

McDuffie is disqualified from being considered because BOTH of his kids were/are at GDS. So not just any private school but the most exclusive, expensive school in the area.

Anonymous wrote:The business establishment isn’t backing him because they like Duff’s smile.
DC’s entire business and real estate lobby has consolidated behind McDuffie.
Opportunity DC, a super PAC backed by real estate executives and large donors, spent heavily to elect him to the at-large seat in 2022, unseating the progressive incumbent Elissa Silverman.

These groups don’t back candidates out of civic spirit. They back candidates they believe will govern in their interest. When the chain restaurants lobby, the real estate lobby, and the business establishment all line up behind the same person, the reasonable question is: who is he going to govern for?

Why is "business" a bad word?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. She fought to put a librarian in every DCPS school.
2. She passed the Safe Routes to School Act
3. She introduced the Work Order Integrity Act
4. She championed conflict resolution education in every school
5. She secured $18 million for Whittier Elementary School
When Whittier Elementary in Ward 4 needed renovations, she secured $18 million in the FY25 budget for a temporary learning space so students wouldn’t be displaced without support. She also introduced the Swing Space Transportation Support Act, requiring DCPS to provide transportation to students relocated to swing spaces - because it’s not enough to find a temporary building if kids can’t get there.
6. She fought alongside WTU for teacher pay and fair contracts - THIS IS WHY WE (TEACHERS) endorse her. NOT because she will be a puppet, she will be a LEADER.
7. She supports equity in funding for both charters and dcps. What she doesn’t support is opening more (lobby-backed) charters in W7/8.

Duffle on the other hand hasn’t done anything at all. His words are all talk - the truth is he will add to the corruption of DC.

Does she support all teachers? Seems like she strongly supports union teachers but they are probably less than 50%. This is worrisome to me.

You do realize some of these benefited charters right…