Black woman on road to be next D.C. mayor
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, 71, lost the Democratic primary election to challenger Muriel Bowser, a member of the D.C. City Council.
By all accounts voter turnout was light but was solidly against the scandal-plagued incumbent mayor. The most recent of which is a federal investigation over his 2010 campaign and allegations that donations of up to $650,000 were not recorded. This scandal along with failure by the administration to resolve labor issues and social problems such as a boom in the population of homeless families led to his downfall.
Bowser, 41, ran as a reform candidate.
She was well known for crafting new ethics rules that were put into place in 2011. Handpicked and politically groomed by former Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who was defeated by Gray after one term, Bowser rose out of political obscurity to win a seat on the D.C. City Council.
Bowser is favored to win the mayoral race but will have a hard fight in the general election. Her strongest opponent will be the better financed and connected D.C. Councilman David A. Catania.
