Mayoral Candidates Clash At The Hill Rag Debate | HillRag

hillrag.com · Sarah Payne · September 8, 2026

# Mayoral Candidates Clash At The Hill Rag Debate | HillRag

Author: Sarah Payne Published: 2026-09-08T00:00:00 Source: hillrag.com (hillrag.com) Language: en

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HomeNews Mayoral Candidates Clash At The Hill Rag Debate

# Mayoral Candidates Clash At The Hill Rag Debate

May 7, 2026

Candidates on stage at the May 5 Mayoral Candidate Forum at Hill Center. L-R: Ernest E. Johnson, Hope Solomon, Kenyon McDuffie, Gary Goodweather, Vincent Orange and Rini Sampath.

High energy costs, crime and the city’s budget dominated discussion at Tuesday’s Mayoral Candidate forum. Candidates spoke directly to voters at the Hill Center (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) about key issues facing Washingtonians ahead of the June 16 primary election.

Following DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement that she would not seek reelection, the open primary race has drawn a crowded field including: Gary Goodweather, Kathy Henderson, Ernest Johnson, Kenyan McDuffie, Vincent Orange, Rini Sampath and Hope Solomon. Janeese Lewis George is also registered to run with the DC Board of Elections (DCBOE), but was not in attendance at the forum after campaign chair Tommy Wells announced she had a family emergency.

### Managing Utility Costs

Affordability and rise of utility costs quickly emerged as a dividing line between candidates as they were asked what actions they would take to lower costs for DC residents.

Johnson and Solomon raised concerns about the influence of appointees to the Public Service Commission (PSC). Solomon questioned the current administration’s closed door decision making practices and emphasized the importance of transparency. “We need a mayor in there that’s going to say no to lobbyists and no to special interests,” she said. Appointing “consumer protection advocates” to the commission is crucial for addressing these high costs, Johnson added.

Rini Sampath, speaking with a voter after the forum, presented herself as an outsider technocrat focused on operations, dashboards, service delivery metrics and fixing failures in execution.

The District’s “political machine”, Sampath explained, is responsible for an overall “affordability crisis” across the city. “We have a management problem, we have an execution problem and those issues are falling of the shoulders of everyday residents who are working incredibly hard,” she emphasized.

Strategic investments in the city’s infrastructure are key to lowering costs, according to McDuffie and Goodweather. Pointing to his tenure on the Council, including involvement in DC Water’s Clean Rivers Project, McDuffie vowed to “push back” on the rising costs residents face through the establishment of an “affordability docket”, the creation of an Office of People’s Council and the appointment of PSC commissioners who support the docket. He also plans to hold data centers accountable “since they are the ones primarily driving up utility bills.”

Technological infrastructure, Goodweather argued, is the quick and clean solution to lowering costs. Goodweather criticized the Council for continuing to “push policies that are antithetical to reducing utility costs” and said if the District can become a “clean energy supplier” that residents will see “immediate” decreases in utility bills. He also proposed building a fourth-generation nuclear reactor on federal land to lower electricity costs.

Orange questioned the immediacy of these measures and said he would instead call in members of utility leadership, Presidents, CEOs and board directors, to have a “real discussion” about rising costs. Through discussion, Orange plans to “make the case” to lower rates with key stakeholders and hold PSC commissioners accountable.

Hope Solomon expressed pride in her grassroots credibility and independence from Fair Elections and its public financing. “$6,000 and you can get on this stage and run for mayor,” she said.

### Policing and Violence Prevention

Candidates also clashed over public safety solutions to the city’s crime. Candidates split on the District’s policing strategy with different ideas about how to balance Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) needs, community policing and violence mitigation efforts.

For McDuffie, MPD officer burn out is a key concern. He plans to prioritize accountability to ensure that criminals are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. “We’re going to do so swiftly and certainly,” he said. Evidence based, data driven community violence prevention through being in communities with youth, staffing recreation centers and ensuring they have access to robust support services in each neighborhood.

Prevention, Orange said, is “first and foremost”. He pushed back on what he called a Council-created “narrative” to defunding the police. He argued that while the number of officers has decreased to 3,200, the budget has remained for 4,500 officers. “We don’t have a money problem, we have a management problem,” he said. For Sampath, addressing crime is a “systems issue” citing a “cultural problem in MPD”. She cited her background as an organizational chief of staff when she said she had the ability to “hire, retain, manage the budget and make sure the operation is running smoothly.” She also underscored the importance of investing in diversion programs.

“Fully staffing” the department is key to Solomon’s public safety approach. She also emphasized the importance of retention and ensuring existing officers are not over worked. For Solomon, community policing is crucial. “We need to have our police a part of the community, and we need to train up our officers and make sure that they’re paid,” she said.

Goodweather agreed, but said he would focus on recruiting DC residents to serve in the police force. “I want police officers being mentors, in our community help after school [and] being coaches to be able to create true community policing,” he said.

Gary Goodweather is a business and infrastructure-oriented reform candidate with detailed plans online and strong pro-growth messaging.

### Home Rule and Budget Pressures

Candidates also debated how to protect DC home rule under the Trump administration and how to respond to looming budget pressures.

Sampath criticized Bowser’s approach to the federal government, arguing the administration “should have never ceded any authority” to the White House. Orange defended Bowser’s strategy, saying she “did what she had to do under the circumstances” to preserve home rule. McDuffie didn’t mention the current Mayor, but emphasized litigation and coordination with the Office of the Attorney General, while Goodweather argued the city’s best defense was competent governance and maintaining a balanced budget, to “[c]reate a government that is so effective that we do not give an excuse to the Trump administration to come in and take away more of our rights.”

Later in the evening, moderator Sam Ford asked candidates in a lightning round if any would raise taxes. None raised their hand. He pressed candidates to explain how they would balance the city’s budget amid roughly $468 million in cuts. Several candidates continued to focus on broader themes such as management, accountability and economic growth, while offering few specific spending reductions or revenue proposals.

McDuffie positioned himself as the experienced governing candidate, repeatedly referencing legislation he authored, infrastructure work and negotiations over RFK. Johnson, in white, listens.

McDuffie proposed reducing agency overtime spending, particularly within MPD, cutting “legacy programs” that no longer produce results and reallocating funds from agencies that routinely underspend their budgets. Goodweather argued the city’s budget had grown too quickly and pledged to conduct line-by-line reviews of agencies and programs while reducing bureaucracy and reforming permitting and licen

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District of Columbia News

September 2026