D.C. mayoral candidates Muriel E. Bowser (D), David A. Catania (I) and Carol Schwartz (I) took part in a debate Sept. 18 at AU. At times testy, the candidates let loose at each other in the first face-to-face conversation of the general election.
Described as a candidate conversation by AU Community Relations, Catania and Bowser got in an argument early on about campaign ethics reform.
“If we’re gonna interrupt each other, it’s going to be a long debate,” Catania said, to which Bowser replied, “Perhaps, perhaps.” It would set the mood for the rest of the night.
Moderator Tom Sherwood frequently asked audience members to quiet down as many erupted into cheers or jeers throughout various candidates’ remarks. At one point a Catania heckler yelled “Park Southern” while Bowser spoke.
The forum was jointly hosted by AU Community Relations, Kennedy Political Union, Ward 3 Vision and Palisades Citizens’ Association, at the Katzen Arts Center Recital Hall. A media panel was composed of online columnist Clinton Yates and WAMU’s Patrick Madden and Kavitha Cardozo.
Here is a recap of some of the issues discussed:
Education
Touted as one of the key issues of the election, education was one of the first topics discussed at the forum. Catania and Bowser both clashed on who had the most experience in education policy to lead the city.
“When you ran for council in 1997,” Catania said, referring to Bowser, “you promised to make education your number one priority, and in seven years you’ve introduced a Sense of the Council Resolution with no specifics and no plan, simply a platitude.”
On Mayor Vincent Gray’s proposed school boundary reform, Bowser argued for no changes on school boundaries until a new mayor is in office. She said the current plan could be put into place after “some tweaks” within a year. Catania has previously gone on record saying that the boundary plan should wait a year.
Schwartz challenged Catania’s experience, pointing out that he’s only been Chair of the Committee of Education for 20 months. “In the intervening months, I’ve had one-on-one conversations with 144 of our school leaders and have spent three entire months at our schools,” Catania said.
Gun control
All three candidates took a strong stance on gun control. The gun control debate centers around a District ban on carrying handguns outside homes, which a federal judge struck down in July.
Housing and the homeless shelter
Candidates were asked what they would do about D.C. General, the homeless shelter in Southeast marred with poor sanitation, infrastructure and safety, where 9-year-old Relesha Rudd was kidnapped.
Schwartz said that if the facility is cleaned up it could be an ideal place for housing the homeless. Bowser said the facility is not a long term solution and that she would speed up rapid rehousing programs and have a hotel room plan by December for homeless people. Catania wants to speed up fixing D.C. General.
Housing in the District is known to be expensive. On raising the building height limit, candidates responded as follows: Bowser opposed raising it and said she would look at developing undeveloped land; Catania launched into a tangent without answering; and Schwartz said she would only consider raising the height limit in “far reaching” areas such as New York Avenue.
If you missed it, you can watch the debate here.
