It has been an unsettling and unprecedented week in our city. Over the course of a week, the surge in federal law enforcement across DC has created waves of anxiety. I was born one year before Home Rule became law, and while our autonomy has been challenged before, our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.
My jobs are many right now. Part of my job is just managing us through this crisis and making sure that our government continues to operate in a way that makes DC residents proud. The first day of school is just over a week away, and our kids deserve a strong and joyful start to the year no matter what is happening in our city.
I also need to defend our autonomy. We know that our access to democracy is different than anywhere else in America. That said, while our Home Rule is limited, we still have rights as American citizens and we still have powers of local self-government. In fact, this evening, I am pleased to be able to report that, after a day in court and in accordance with Home Rule, Pamela Smith remains our Chief of Police, in command and control of the 3,100 men and women at the Metropolitan Police Department. I am incredibly proud of how the Chief has handled this experience. Our city has also spent more than two decades building trust between MPD and the community, and it is important to all of us – and to the safety of our city – that we keep that trust.
Another part of my job is to make sure people know the true story of Washington, DC – who we are and what we stand for. And the truth is, we are a beautiful city. We have 700,000 proud Washingtonians who call DC home, and while we’re not without our challenges, we take care of our own. It is also a fact that after an unacceptable crime spike in 2023, we have worked together to drive down crime precipitously and we have never taken our foot off the gas. We can do more, and we will. But the facts are the facts: We have the number one park system in the nation and the fastest improving urban school district. Last year, DC grew faster than any state in the nation. Even in a very tough fiscal environment, we just passed our 30th consecutive balanced budget.
We have a lot to be proud of in Washington, but what I am most proud of are our people and values. And what I have seen over this past week is a city that knows how to stick together. I know that if we keep sticking together, we will make it to the other side of this, we will make future generations of Washingtonians proud, and we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy – even when we don’t have full access to it.
