Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Muriel Bowser plans to officially announce her candidacy Thursday for the Ward 4 D.C. Council seat vacated by Mayor Adrian Fenty, and will do so with the former council member standing beside her.
Bowser, 34, is a fourth-generation Washingtonian and has served as ANC since 2004. She said she worked closely with Fenty, who was elected to the Council that same year, on neighborhood issues and helped in his mayoral campaign.
With education named as her top priority, Bowser, who does not have children, has said she supports Fenty’s signature legislative priority — a mayoral takeover of the District’s public schools.
“I support very much having the superintendent report directly to the mayor and having a single line of accountability,” Bowser said Tuesday.
Fenty’s endorsement of Bowser is likely to carry a lot of political weight in a field of at least 11 other potential candidates on May 1, the date set for the special election. There is no primary planned.
Bowser, who serves as vice president of the Ward 4 Democrats, also named Georgia Avenue redevelopment as a top priority. She said she wants residents from her ward to be able to live, work and shop all within their home area.
“We have a great street in Ward 4 that could be greater,” Bowser said. “We think we can do it.”
Bowser, who works for Montgomery County as an assistant director for the Silver Spring Regional Center, faces challenges from Michael Brown, who ran a failed bid for the mayor’s seat, as well as T.A. Uqdah, a local business owner.
Bowser will make her announcement outside a home located at 1609 Kalmia Road in Northwest.
