Mark Lee

Small-Business Director | Formerly @DCNightlifeDCNC ExecDir | @Spotlight4DC Advisory Board | Former @WashBlade Columnist | @wcp Award: 'BestOfDC' Best Columnist

[Alex Koma @AlexKomaDC]

CFO Glen Lee issues yet another warning to the council via letter about pulling over $150m in reserves for the budget, saying it would "severely jeopardize the District’s financial viability and sustainability."

Mendo's budget proposal drops Monday ahead of a vote Tuesday...

[Nate Silver @NateSilver538]

It's hard to overstate how much of an outlier California is for its slow vote-counting relative to literally any other state or almost any other industrialized democracy.

[Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle]

Here’s the official response from @kenyanmcduffie’s campaign to the WaPo poll showing him 11 points down (albeit with plenty of voters still undecided). His campaign manager calls @Janeese4DC a “threat to D.C.’s public safety, autonomy, and affordability.”

[Post Local @postlocal]

Janeese Lewis George leads Kenyan R. McDuffie by double-digits in the Democratic primary for D.C. mayor, according to a Post-Schar School poll.

But a quarter of voters remain undecided about the race as the primary enters its final days. https://t.co/caVSb2ryBJ

[Cuneyt Dil @cuneytdil]

Despite voting being underway, with sixteen days until Election Day at the time, 44% surveyed didn't know about rank-choice voting, per Post-Schar poll.

[DC Police Department @DCPoliceDept]

MPD announces the establishment of two juvenile curfew zones beginning Friday, June 5, at 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Saturday, June 6, 2026. Maps of the zones pictured below.

Read more: https://t.co/D8XuQqN6eM
More about curfew enforcement here: https://t.co/3PKrRxcq63

[Scott Clement @sfcpoll]

NEW Washington Post-Schar School D.C. poll: Janeese Lewis George leads D.C. mayoral race by 11 points over Kenyan McDuffie, but 1 in 4 likely voters remain undecided before the June 16 primary. Details in our story w/ @jennygathright & @sophiansolano https://t.co/SgQChD4kYc

[Kenyan McDuffie @kenyanmcduffie]

Maya Angelou said it best: when people show you who they are, believe them. Janeese Lewis George’s votes have shown us exactly who she is. I’ve spent almost 14 years delivering for DC, and as Mayor, that’s exactly what I’ll do. Rank me #1 on your ballot and vote by June 16.

[Kenyan McDuffie @kenyanmcduffie]

My opponent praised my work on the NEAR Act just a few months ago. Today she’s attacking me for it. I don’t know which version of Janeese Lewis George I’m running against: the councilmember who supported my work, or the candidate willing to say anything to get elected.

[Robert McCartney @McCartneyWP]

Interesting thread here on Mayor Bowser interview at WashPost. She won’t say it explicitly, but crystal clear she favors McDuffie as successor. (No surprise). …

[Office of the D.C. Auditor @ODCA_DC]

We've got a new Auditude! Today’s topic: the worsening relationship between DC's electeds and the independent CFO—and a plea for everyone to get on the same financial page. Consider this your budget process fact check. https://t.co/qbm5EtWciw

[Kenyan McDuffie @kenyanmcduffie]

I enjoyed seeing friends and supporters at The Pug on H St SE yesterday. DC's small businesses, like The Pug, are the backbone of our economy. As Mayor, I'll strengthen government supports for small businesses so we can grow our economy. #FightAndDeliver @thepugdc

[Kenyan McDuffie @kenyanmcduffie]

🚨Endorsement Alert🚨

I’m proud to be endorsed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States under President Barack Obama.

“Kenyan McDuffie served with me at the Department of Justice during my time as Attorney General under President Obama,” said Holder. “He demonstrated there the integrity, judgment and commitment to justice that have defined his career. On the DC Council, he has carried those values forward.”

I am deeply honored to have the support of General Holder, whose lifelong commitment to equal justice and the rule of law has been an inspiration to public servants across the country. As Mayor, I will bring that same commitment to make DC safer, more affordable and more accountable for every resident.

[Robert McCartney @McCartneyWP]

Polls show large plurality of Democratic voters want party to move to the center. Double the number who want it to move to left.

[Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle]

Inbox: Former attorney general Eric Holder is endorsing @kenyanmcduffie for D.C. mayor.

[David Weigel @daveweigel]

A good part of Republican messaging is pointing at California in horror, and saying: “See? Elect Democrats and that’ll happen to you.”

The monthlong vote count is not helping Dems’ rep for competence, which Dems are saying out loud recently.

[Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle]

Of course, the semi-open primaries component of Initiative 83 was never funded by the D.C. Council, so it hasn't taken effect. That means the city's roughly 80,000 independent voters can't participate in the June 16 primary (but they can in a single special election).

[Mark Lee @MarkLeeDC]

Is this the DC gadfly who lives in a basement apartment and opposes the good incomes and longstanding livelihoods of the tens-of-thousands of tipped restaurant-and-bar service professionals who support the current tip-wage system and wants them to become minimum-wage-wage drones?

[Ryan @Rybread_26]

I have some free time today and this article by @mattyglesias deserves a proper rebuttal. I don't have a Substack, so here's the thread...🧵
https://t.co/AALG6fUROb

[Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle]

Now, @MayorBowser is pushing back against any proposed tax increases, and Mendelson himself says he wants to see them as a last resort. In a letter to the council today Bowser slammed "making major tax policy on the fly with no public input."

[Katie Robertson @katie_robertson]

NEWS: A federal judge has blocked NOTUS from rebranding tomorrow as "The Star," granting a temporary restraining order at the request of its rival, The Washington Star