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Senior D.C. politics reporter, WAMU 88.5. Pittsburgh born and forever a Hokie. Send story ideas or spam to akoma(at)wamu.org

Alex Koma

If you’re wondering where this money comes from, a memo distributed by Opportunity DC that I got my hands on points the way: it shows how donating to their nonprofit can get around campaign finance laws (especially for city contractors). Also lists their ‘26 budget for election spending as $1.7M

Some pretty interesting (and perhaps discouraging) numbers from the pro-RCV folks at @fairvote.bsky.social for any DC candidate hoping to win using second/third place votes Tuesday: Since 2004, the candidate with the most first-place votes has won 94% of the time in ranked choice races.

It wouldn't be an election without last-minute mailer drama. In Ward 1, Rashida Brown is hitting Aparna Raj in a new mailer for criticizing Biden over his stance on Gaza. But Raj believes it's missing key context: she only campaigned against Biden in the primary. wamu.org/story/26/06/...

We’re talking last-minute primary prep! Join us.

Reyes Yanes says she'll appeal, which explains why she still called herself a Fair Elections candidate after OCF's ruling: but you'd hope OCF would get this resolved before the election given the severity of what they allege. Either way, tough week for the campaign with these signs going up too:

Hoo boy, here's some dark money for ya: business-backed Opportunity DC took in a total of $817k since March. Of that, $660k comes from its nonprofit arm, so its source is murky. The rest comes from major developers/property owners/lobbyists: all being spent to back McDuffie.

Speaking of, American Future (funded by major sports betting companies) is sending a ton of these citywide mailers hyping Doni Crawford/Phil Mendelson: including this very AI one at center. But they haven’t filed any financial reports so no idea how much cash they’re dumping in…

There's an unusually bitter battle brewing over the future of the DC Democrats. The race to control the Democratic State Committee will determine not only party strategy: but also a replacement for Robert White if he wins his race. Naturally, things are getting personal: wamu.org/story/26/06/...

A few folks have flagged these signs by the Great Capital Area Association of Realtors. They back all three candidates but the sign looks as if they’ve cross endorsed: even though Raymond backs Greg Jackson, not Chavous (and McDuffie hasn’t weighed in on the at large race at all)

The council has approved most of the budget. But there's been a lengthy debate after Nadeau pitched another "contingency list" in lieu of a tax hike. The idea is to direct excess revenues to things like pay equity, HPTF, TANF etc. But not much agreement on the list itself...

The races to control the Democratic State Committee may be at the bottom of the D.C. ballot, but it's an opportunity determine the party's direction and possibly the composition of the D.C. Council.

wamu.org

An obscure race to control the D.C. Democratic Party comes with high stakes and controversy

Alex Koma

Rashida Brown is accusing one of her top rivals for the seat, Aparna Raj, of being insufficiently committed to the Democratic cause. Raj believes the ads are missing crucial context.

wamu.org

A mailer highlighting a Ward 1 Council candidate's past criticisms of Biden is ratcheting up tensions

Alex Koma

A few amendments we'll hear about today: @cmzparker5.bsky.social wants to run a pilot program giving high schoolers $50/week as a financial literacy tool: lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LI... Wendell Felder wants to speed up the reopening of Kelly Miller Pool: lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LI...

Alex Koma

Friday on The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi, WAMU's Alex Koma and the Washington Informer's Sam P.K. Collins break down next week's D.C. primaries.

NEWS: The D.C. Office of Campaign Finance says Ward 1 D.C. Council candidate Jackie Reyes Yanes's campaign may have committed "serious misconduct" by allegedly falsifying the source of 13 cash contributions to her campaign. (Qualifying contributions are matched with public funds.)

Martin Austermuhle

WAMU 88.5

lims.dccouncil.gov

Budget day is here! The first of two council votes is set for today. The early vibe I've gotten around the Wilson Building is to NOT expect Nadeau's wealth tax amendment to move today: seems like the votes aren't yet there. But it could still come up at the second vote.

Alex Koma

Wondering what's in the budget? Here's our first look at what's getting saved, what's still getting cut, and future fights over tax hikes to come: wamu.org/story/26/06/...

Alex Koma

D.C. lawmakers plan to reverse budget cuts proposed by Mayor Bowser

Council Chair Phil Mendelson thinks he's found funding to avert cuts to things like childcare programs, healthcare and housing assistance. But some lawmakers are still pressing for tax increases to av...

wamu.org

Easy to forget during primary season, but the first DC budget vote is also tomorrow! Mendo hopes to use about $450M to reverse Bowser's planned cuts to the pay equity fund, housing vouchers, healthcare programs and a lot more. A few details:

BIG MONEY: [email protected] independent expenditure group People for a United D.C. has raised $827k and spent $813k on [email protected] mailers and ads. Most of its funding ($650k) comes from a dark money group. $100k from realtors group. Also: Nats owner, developers.