Former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie is running for mayor of D.C., he announced Wednesday.
News4’s Mark Segraves was among the first to sit down with McDuffie about his decision. McDuffie talked about immigration enforcement in the District and how he plans to fight back.
“What we wouldn’t do is to allow the continuation of federal encroachment of ICE and HSI, who are descending onto communities, in safe spaces around schools and places of worship and snatching people off our streets,” McDuffie said in an interview. “So, I would fight that tooth and nail.”
When asked how he would be able to stop President Donald Trump from doing that if he were mayor, McDuffie said he believes power starts with the people of the District. He says he would use the “bully pulpit of mayor and every single tool in the toolkit to fight it.”
He said it’s the same way he fought to protect people’s civil rights in the Justice Department.
“It’s the same way that I wrote and authored our police body-worn camera legislation here in the nation’s capital so that we have a more transparent department, so that we can see what people, officers are doing when they have encounters with ordinary residents,” McDuffie said.
McDuffie said he wants the D.C. police department to keep working with federal enforcement that they’ve historically coordinated with, such as the FBI.
“What we don’t want to continue, and I would work to stop on Day 1, is the cooperation with Homeland Security, HSI and ICE that is really putting our Metropolitan Police Department in a situation where it is eroding community trust that we’ve worked years to build,” McDuffie said.
McDuffie resigned from the D.C. Council in December after 13 years so that he could change his affiliation from independent to Democrat and run in the Democratic primary. A special election will be held to fill his seat.
He said in an interview with WAMU in mid-November that he was thinking of running for mayor.
“I have been approached by residents across the District of Columbia, from labor leaders to people in the business community to people in the faith community who’ve been encouraging me to really give serious thought to running for mayor,” he said.
Three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser announced in November she wouldn’t run again. Bowser told the D.C. Economic Club at a recent event, “If you like me, you’re going to love Kenyan. Wink, wink,” fueling speculation that she might endorse McDuffie to replace her.
Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George was the first major candidate to announce her mayoral campaign in December. Five candidates in addition to her have already filed to run: Rhonda Hamilton, Regan Jones, Robert Gross, and James McMorris.
Candidates must collect at least 3,000 signatures or 1.5% of the total number of duly registered electors in the District, whichever is smaller, according to the D.C. Board of Elections.
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