President Trump’s decision to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy 800 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., is already making a visible difference.
Having spent most of Monday walking the streets, I saw and felt something the city has been missing for years — relief. Seniors who had been afraid to sit on their front porches were once again outside. Neighbors were walking without looking over their shoulders. There is, at last, a sense that law and order are returning.
Mayor Muriel Bowser has allowed the nation’s capital to slip into mediocrity. For too long, there has been a lack of oversight, accountability, and enforcement. Developers have run roughshod over city regulations, repeatedly failing to deliver affordable housing or good-paying jobs. The recent RFK Stadium back-door deal is just the latest example of a government more concerned with political optics than real results.
But now, at last, we come to a crime problem that has plagued the District for years. Despite a year-over-year decline from an exceptionally bad 2023 (violent crime statistics for D.C. may not even be trustworthy), one number tells the whole story: The homicide tally for last year was more than twice what it had been in 2012.
For the first time in years, the Metropolitan Police Department is being held accountable. As a candidate for mayor, I will direct the Office of the D.C. Auditor to review every city agency for waste, fraud, and abuse. I will revoke “Sanctuary City” status, because D.C. residents should not be discouraged from wanting a safer, stronger city by a few hundred political sycophants who have fed off a failed Bowser administration for years.
The tired rhetoric of blaming the white man for every shortcoming has worn thin, especially when those in power have done little to lift our own people up.
Teachers are afraid to teach. Students are being shortchanged of a quality education. Developers make promises they don’t keep. Public safety is inconsistent and uneven.
Now is the time to make Washington, D.C., the envy of the world — second to none. I am prepared to lead the way, regardless of whether a Republican or Democrat occupies the White House or controls Congress.
The residents of this city deserve better. And we must demand it, starting now.
Ernest E. Johnson is a prison reform advocate, Chairman of the nonprofit Friends of the Frank Reeves Center, and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Washington.
