By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
A candidate forum erupted into temporary mayhem March 14 before an energized and extremely vocal crowd of several hundred people who filled the pews at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia community.
The forum, organized by Free D.C., a nonprofit organization committed to securing statehood for D.C., featured candidates running for mayor and U.S. House delegate.
The winner in each race will replace, respectively, D.C.Mayor Muriel Bowser, who decided not to seek a fourth term in office, and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has represented the District in Congress since 1991.
However, the high point or most controversial part of the forum – depending on one’s perspective – was undoubtedly the brief but explosive interchange between mayoral candidates Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie.
Lewis George and McDuffie, who have emerged as the frontrunners in the race, held nothing back as things continue to heat up for a primary election showdown, scheduled for June 16.
McDuffie denounced Lewis George for making promises he said she would not be able to achieve and allegedly overstating her legislative record, while Lewis George countered that her opponent had proven to be more committed to “special interests” at the expense of the District’s working class.
“Under the watch of this chair, your utilities have gone up every single month because he has stood with Washington Gas and Pepco and not the people of this city,” said Lewis George, criticizing McDuffie’s record during his tenure as the chair of the council’s economic development committee.
McDuffie, during his closing statement, fired back.
“[Lewis George] hasn’t introduced a single piece of standalone legislation to deal with the problem,” McDuffie said. “Every single time she had the opportunity to vote against [confirming] the Public Service Commissioners, she voted yes.”
For just over one minute, the two candidates abandoned protocol, shouting at one another while their supporters spurred them on, as the moderator, Katea Stitt of WPFW, attempted to restore order. McDuffie eventually walked off the stage where he was congratulated by his supporters.
The testy exchange continued on social media.
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time,” Lewis George later said on Facebook.
McDuffie, posting on his X social media account, said Lewis George “hasn’t delivered for [her] own ward,” and added, “I won’t legislate via TikTok and Instagram.”
Meanwhile, the other two featured mayoral candidates, developer Gary Robert Goodweather and attorney Yaida Oni Ford, were able to do little else than sit quietly and watch the hubbub.
Sam P. K. Collins, a staff writer with The Washington Informer, moderated the portion of the forum that featured four candidates for U.S. delegate to Congress: Robert White (at-large D.C. councilmember); Deirdre Brown (chair, Ward 3 Democrats); Kelly Mikel Williams; and Kinney Zalesne (Democratic strategist).
He said despite the unexpected and temporarily distracting fireworks, he remains optimistic about the direction in which political activism is progressing in D.C.
“I think we’re moving in a positive direction as the June primary election approaches,” Collins said. “We have a lot of people who are running as candidates and there’s a real interest among voters related to who can best take on the president and advance the needs of those who live in Washington, D.C.
“That’s all good for District residents and with the mayor not running for a fourth term, and with Eleanor Holmes Norton retiring after having served in Congress since 1991, people are excited about the future.”
Collins posited that unless voters do more extensive research about the long list of candidates for mayor, he sees the race boiling down to a two-person showdown.
Views vary from Washingtonians who viewed the ‘outburst”
Joy Masha, a millennial African-American woman that lives in Ward 2 and is a member of and organizer for a political action committee at Metropolitan AME Church, said she’s dissatisfied with the way political campaigns are moving in D.C.
“It’s clear that the candidates are career-driven, and what D.C. residents don’t need, especially now, is another full-time spokesperson,” Masha said. “At a time when effective leaders and those with leadership skills are so unavailable, the least candidates should have done was explain their plan for the future and not focus on talking about what they have learned or may have accomplished in the past.”
“What I witnessed,” she concluded, “ was more like an episode of The Real Housewives of D.C.”
Theryn C. Bond, known as politicalbarbie47 on her frequently visited TikTok social media account, posted her reflections immediately after the forum’s conclusion and said she was somewhat “shocked” by the behavior of Lewis George and McDuffie.
“Whenever McDuffie threw a jab, I expected Lewis George to throw one back at him,” Bond said. “You could see how frustrated she was – you could see it on her face. Maybe her debate preparation team let her down.
“This race is about one simple question that voters are asking: In this moment of crisis, who can they trust to show up for residents in all eight wards of the District? I think Lewis George summarized it better than I ever could.”
During her closing remarks, the councilwoman said, “This race is about action versus inaction, courage versus convenience, and standing up or selling out.”
The AFRO sent questions to officials at both Free D.C. and the Anacostia Coordinating Council but did not receive responses prior to press time.
