Vol 61 No 8
In Aftermath of Bowser’s Announcement, the Fight for D.C.’s Future Starts
Serving Our Community in the DMV
December 4 -10, 2025
Remembering James L. Wright , Jr Page 9
The Collins D.C. Council Report
Ranked-Choice Voting, Youth Programming, Recreation Centers, and Streatery Regulations
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
Since D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced she wouldn’t seek re-election, congratulatory notes have poured in from numerous elected officials— including D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), one of the Bowser administration’s most ardent critics as of late. Lewis George, a Democratic Socialist and third-generation Washingtonian, has since launched her bid for the top spot in D.C. government. While she didn’t mention Bowser by name, Lewis George said she would take the District 5 D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (right) speaks to Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan along an entirely different course if elected. McDuffie in 2022. Lewis George announced she is running for mayor and McDuffie’s name continues
This edition of The Collins D.C. Council Report is dedicated (or as the RasTafari say, liv-icated) to the memory of my Informer colleague, James L. Wright, Jr., whose death I learned about on the morning of the D.C. Council’s Dec. 2 legislative meeting. More than a decade ago, when I started out as a stringer at this beloved publication, Wright was one of the senior reporters on the staff, alongside my mentor-colleague Barrington Salmon, the late Dorothy Rowley and others. His political roundups, which appeared in each edition of the paper, succinctly informed readers about the goings on of
REPORT Page 52
BOWSER Page 11 to pop up as a possible contender in the 2026 D.C. mayoral election. (WI File Photo/Roy Lewis)
Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler: A Living Legend Receives His Flowers
Tensions Heighten with National Guard After Shooting Near White House
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
In the days after an Afghan CIA operative allegedly shot two National Guardsmen— ultimately killing one– Jay Brown walked through 5 People are taking to Farragut West in Northwest, D.C. to Navy Yard with his daughter eager to, once remember National Guardsmen Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew again, speak with some of the men and women Wolfe, who were shot on Nov. 26. The following day, President
During what was one of the largest and most successful acts of nonviolent resistance in D.C. this Thanksgiving, Tamika Mallory and the Rev. Jamal Bryant chanted, sang, marched and waved signs alongside several dozen protesters standing outside of Target in Columbia Heights. However, as organizer Dante O’Hara explained, the Nov. 29 protest inside and around the D.C. USA Shopping Center, where Target is located, repre- 5 As activations to boycott Target continue across the District, the sented the fulfillment of a vision Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler is being honored for his early advocacy articulated by the Rev. Graylan against the corporation after the decision to roll back diversity,
NATIONAL GUARD Page 18 (Austin Cooper/The Washington Informer)
GRAYLAN Page 14 Trump’s policies. (WI File Photo/Robert R. Roberts)
Washingtonians Hold Trump Accountable: ‘These Young People Should be at Home’ By Sam P.K. Collins, Jada Ingleton and Stacy M. Brown WI Staff Writer, WI Content Editor, and WI Senior Writer
Donald Trump confirmed Beckstrom died from her injuries.
equity and inclusion efforts in alignment with President Donald
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