Dustin Canter

By Max Gersch

Dustin Canter is a self-proclaimed “4th generation DC resident” running as Independent for mayor of the District of Columbia. He grew up around the DMV, attending public primary and secondary schools in Maryland. Canter left the area after high school to go to the University of Illinois and stayed in the state for eight years before returning to Washington, where he has lived since. Dustin is now 33.

After moving to Illinois, Dustin began pursuing entrepreneurial interests. Canter’s pursuits include providing moving services, co-founding a bagel shop, and developing software. He believes this professional experience makes him a competitive candidate. Canter is passionate about affordable housing, improving education, combating climate change, and decriminalizing marijuana. “I am all for legalization and full taxation of cannabis in the District of Columbia,” he said in an interview with the Wilson Beacon. Canter also proposes the implementation of toll booths on the bridges which connect DC to Maryland and Virginia as to incentivize the use of public transportation and reduce emissions.

When asked about his leading opponent, Muriel Bowser, Canter voiced dissatisfaction. “Mayor Bowser has done a wonderful job serving the interests of the millionaire and billionaire real estate vultures,” he said.

Canter is determined to serve as an accessible mayor who engages with the community.

Muriel Bowser

By Talya Lehrich

Muriel Bowser is currently the seventh elected mayor of the District of Columbia. Though she was not sworn into office until January 2015, Bowser has been serving the city for years. In 2007, Bowser was elected as the Ward 4 councilmember, and re-elected in 2008, and again in 2012. During this time, Bowser served as the chairwoman for the Comittee on Economic Development, which was responsible for creating units of affordable housing. Bowser is a democratic candidate who emphasizes running the city through taking action. She has made this evident through instituting job trainings and new job opportunities all across the city, investing education to accelerate education reform, and relacing homeless shelters with family housing. Bowser won the primary on June 19 with 80 percent of the vote. Many admire Bowser because of her neutrality; she has sided with the business community on certain issues while maintaining credibility with lower-income voters. Others, however, discredit Bowser due to the multiple scandals in the DCPS system during her terms, as well as oppose her strong pro-business policies.

Martin Moulton

By Talya Lehrich

Martin Moulton is the Libertarian candidate for the 2018 DC mayoral election. In 2016, Moulton ran for DC delegate as a Libertarian, but lost by large margins to Eleanor Holmes Norton. Moulton is a strong proponent of LGBT rights, an important issue to him as an openly gay man. Moulton has also placed an emphasis on the reforms he will make to the DCPS education system if elected mayor. He plans to tackle the recent scandals involving DCPS, as well as revive the DCPS school system. He believes that these school scandals arose because of “bureaucrats” who want to “tell parents how they should educate their kids.” Moulton’s agenda also includes abolishing all drug laws in the city and legalizing sex work. Moulton hopes to claim the votes of African Americans and the LGBTQ community in the election, votes he hopes will help him beat Muriel Bowser.

Ann Wilcox

By Talya Lehrich

Ann Wilcox is the District’s Green Party candidate, known in DC as the DC statehood party. This party acts under the pillars of ecological wisdom, social justice, nonviolence, and grassroots democracy. Wilcox was appointed member of the DC Commission for Women from 1991 to 1994 before joining the DC Board of Education from 1994 to 1998. Wilcox’s experience in education shaped her ideas about the DCPS system. “We need to expand vocational and specialized education. We must also ensure safe passage of students to and from school,” said Wilcox in an interview with the Wilson Beacon. She also believes that community input is imperative to an effective education system, and is a strong believer in affordable housing development. “The main issue of my campaign is the need for affordable housing and to ‘push back’ against gentrification,” she said. If elected, Wilcox would implement affordable housing as well as zoning, in which a certain number of affordable units in each new project would be dedicated to low income families. Despite her admiration of Muriel Bowser’s work in office, Wilcox believes that Bowser has been too nice to developers. “The Mayor has done some building affordable housing…but much more needs to be done,” said Wilcox. “Preserving neighborhoods and communities should be our priority as a city.”