The at-large D.C. Council candidate who wins Tuesday’s special election could be a deciding vote on an income tax increase for the wealthy that has been proposed by Mayor Vince Gray. The income tax increase that’s meant to raise $35 million from District residents who earn $200,000 or more per year is part of the mayor’s budget proposal that the council will vote on next month. There are nine candidates vying to fill the at-large seat vacated by Kwame Brown when he became council chairman. The candidate picked by voters will have immediate influence over how Gray’s budget is shaped in the coming weeks. If the income tax increase survives the process, the council’s newest member might be the deciding factor.
The council is divided on the issue. Chairman Kwame Brown is joined by Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans in outright opposition to the income tax increase. Right now, Gray can count council members Phil Mendelson, Tommy Wells, Jim Graham, Yvette Alexander and Michael Brown as members of his tax-raising camp. But he needs seven votes to get the measure passed and other council members are waiting to see how the rest of the budget plays out before weighing in on the tax increase.
The leading five at-large council candidates are equally mixed in their views, and like the sitting council members, not all are ready to decide.
“I wonder if enough things are being cut and if the money the tax raises is being spent in the right places,” Democrat Bryan Weaver told The Washington Examiner. He supports the tax increase, but “it needs to be clear that the money is being dedicated to the safety net.”
Democrat Josh Lopez has a similar viewpoint.
“If Gray is asking for more money to help with programs for the neediest residents, then I support that,” Lopez said. “But if he’s asking for money to support the status quo of D.C. government, then I can’t support that.”
Lopez said Gray hasn’t yet made his case for the tax increase clear.
Sekou Biddle, the Democrat who is filling the seat on an interim basis, has said he might support a tax increase, but only after he’s certain excess spending has been cut from the budget. He did not respond to a request for comment from The Examiner.
Democrat Vincent Orange and Republican Patrick Mara were unequivocal in their opposition. “NO,” Orange wrote in an email.
“I don’t support any tax increase, ” Mara said. “Until we solve the spending problems we have, I don’t know how we can look a District resident in the eye and raise taxes.”
