Mayor Muriel Bowser visits voters as polls open, shares plan to combat gun violence

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — D.C. voters headed to the polls Tuesday morning to cast their ballots for who they believe should be the next mayor. DC News Now spoke to voters on the key issues impacting their decisions at the ballot box.

Voters say the rising crime in the District — specifically homicide rates — is a key issue. The city has seen an increase in homicides over the past few years. Data from the Metropolitan Police Department shows a 14 percent increase from 2020 to 2021.

We spoke to D.C. residents about how Mayor Muriel Bowser has handled crime during her term, and what steps the next mayor should take to reduce crime.

Most recently, Bowser announced an $80 million budget for a summer-long program called the ‘202 Peace Campaign” to reduce gun violence.

Those we spoke to say initiatives like preventative programs are necessary, but are voters are split when it comes to how heavy of a role policing should play.

“Once you change their environment, then you get to change the narrative, because beefing up the police isn’t doing anything,” said Craig Dickens.

Other residents like Howard Sklamberg say police play a vital role in reducing crime.

“For years, the city had a lot of summer programs, and I think it’s important. You really need both,” said Sklamberg. “You need to deal with the causes of crime and the crime itself.”

DC News Now also spoke to Mayor Bowser as she visited the Chevy Chase Community Center polling location Tuesday morning. If re-elected, she says she will continue her work to hire more police staff and implement programs to stop crime before it happens.

“We are working on having the number of police officers we need after two years of not being able to hire, as well as a comprehensive plan to address preventing crime,” said Bowser. “We’re working with our federal partners to make sure we’re investigating high level crime.”