D.C. Swears in Elected Officials for New Term

 By WI Web Staff

      D.C. elected officials, new and returning, were sworn into their offices Monday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest before an estimated crowd of 450.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, and Council members Anita Bonds (D-At Large), Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) took the oath of office for another four-year term. Kenyan McDuffie, who represented Ward 5 on the council before an unsuccessful bid for D.C. attorney general, was sworn in as the body’s newest at-large member.

Zachary Parker and Matt Frumin were administered the oath as new council members for Wards 5 and 3, respectively. Brian Schwalb also was sworn in as the city’s second-ever elected attorney general.

Bowser made history as the first woman in the country to be elected as a mayor of a major city for a third consecutive term. She is also the second mayor to get a third term, with Marion S. Barry achieving the feat in 1994.

Bowser said she will focus on redeveloping the downtown area, which has suffered economically amid the coronavirus pandemic. She said the city’s public school system will be upgraded “to become the best school district in the country.”

The mayor said she will work to add 35,000 new jobs in high-growth industries during her new term. She also pledged to improve public safety and make the city carbon-neutral by 2025.

Mendelson said he will work on the District’s education system by improving literacy and preventing truancy and teacher turnover. He said unlike other jurisdictions that have problems due to leaders unable to come together, District lawmakers and the mayor can work together.

“We are understandably progressive,” the council chairman said. “Our tradition embraces compromise.”

Schwalb said he won’t be controlled or compromised while in office.

“As your independently elected attorney general, I will listen to everyone but won’t be beholden to no one,” he said.

Schwalb said he will work to curtail the juvenile crime rate, saying “locking up young people does not make us safer.”

Nadeau said she will work to make sure the city’s public works division is more responsive to residents. Parker said he will push for more equity as a council member.

Frumin said he will utilize his experience as a longtime activist in Ward 3 to make the city “a more just and prosperous place.” Allen touted some of his past legislative triumphs such as supporting a monthly income for some District residents and free bus service starting in July.

Bonds pledged to protect seniors during her next term while McDuffie said he will focus on reducing gun violence.