WASHINGTON - The candidates running to be D.C.'s next mayor are participating in a public forum Monday night.
The event is being held in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library auditorium from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The candidates are expected to discuss their main priorities, policy plans and address residents' concerns.
The backstory:
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced that she will not be running for reelection after over a decade in office, and the candidates for the mayoral primary election in June are pouring in.
So far, nine candidates have filed petitions to appear on the Democratic primary election ballot for June 16, while others have announced running as an independent or a write-in candidate.
The candidates:
Organizers say at the event, residents will hear directly from mayoral candidates on the issues that matter most.
Here's more on the candidates in this race.
Kenyan McDuffie
Former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, 50, announced his mayoral run for D.C. after resigning from the council earlier this year.
READ MORE: Here's who is running in DC's mayoral primary on June 16
Janeese Lewis George
Janeese Lewis George, McDuffie's main opponent in this race, is a current Councilmember representing Ward 4 and describes herself as a democratic socialist.
Gary Goodweather
Gary Goodweather is a real estate manager and former U.S. Army captain who is running as a Democrat for this election.
Vincent Orange
Vincent Orange, a Democrat, is a former D.C. Councilmember where he represented Ward 5 for eight years and became an At-Large Councilmember for two terms. He served as the president of the DC Chamber of Commerce from 2016 to 2020.
Talib Karim Muhammad
Talib Karim Muhammad has a vision for D.C. statehood, safety, affordability and a remodeled education. He comes from a background as a teacher, engineer, attorney and reporter.
Yaida Ford
Yaida Ford is a civil rights attorney, urban farmer and an advocate who is campaigning for safe neighborhoods, affordable housing, strong schools and a reliable government.
Hope Solomon
Hope Solomon was one of the workers laid off by the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump, and now she is running for mayor, according to Axios.
Robert L. Gross
Robert L. Gross is a self-proclaimed "moderate socialist-capitalist." The key component of his campaign is to modernize city government through responsible artificial intelligence integration for budgeting, service delivery, real-time performance oversight and increasing efficiency without sacrificing transparency.
Rini Sampath
Rini Sampath, a cybersecurity consultant, was driven to start her campaign in the wake of the District's recent snow woes. Her campaign is focused on the need to "fix the basics."
Rhonda Hamilton
Rhonda Hamilton is running as an Independent. She's a D.C. native and small business owner, and founder of M.I. Mother’s Keeper, a mental health advocacy non-profit. Her top focuses include housing stability, healthcare and economic disparities and small businesses.
Muhsin "Boe" Umar
Muhsin Umar, also known as "Boe" according to his campaign site, "is a lifelong community builder."
Ernest Johnson
Ernest Johnson is a D.C. native and CEO of nonprofit Friends of Frank Reeves Center, which has provided backpacks, school supplies and free haircuts to local elementary schools.
Kathy Henderson
Kathy Henderson served as an ANC commissioner for Ward 5. According to her campaign website, she studied biology at Howard University and is a preservationist and former C100 trustee. She also serves as a member of the Pepco Citizen Advisory Group (CAG), which was created to help clean up the Anacostia River.
From The 51st:
With two months left until the District’s Democratic primary, seven candidates are vying for the city’s top office. Local publication The 51st has been covering the race and is hosting a mayoral forum at the MLK Memorial Library on Monday.
Read more here: https://51st.news/tag/dcision2026/