D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. (Photo by Tyrone Turner / WAMU)

Mayor Muriel Bowser is putting her weight behind Dionne Reeder in the D.C. Council At-large race.

Reeder is a first-time candidate running as an independent in the race and looking to topple incumbent Elissa Silverman, who has been on the council since 2014. The news comes shortly after business-backed challenger S. Kathryn Allen was booted off the ballot for signature fraud. Before that, Bowser and her reelection staff had quietly worked to support Allen, according to The Washington Post.

Now, with Allen out of the race, many members of the business community are turning to the previously underfunded Reeder, a businesswoman who owns the restaurant Cheers at the Big Chair. She is also a native Washingtonian and openly gay.

Bill Lightfoot, Bowser’s reelection campaign manager says that the mayor is encouraging her supporters to “spread Dionne’s message, raise money for Dionne, and knock on doors.” The news was first reported by The Post.

“Dionne is focused on D.C. residents,” says Lightfoot. “The mayor believes that Elissa Silverman has more of a national agenda that might not be the best for D.C. residents.”

Alfreda Davis, Reeder’s campaign manager, says Reeder is “is extraordinarily excited about an endorsement that comes from the highest elected office, and we look forward to an aggressive campaign over the next several weeks.”

Both Reeder and Allen have used paid family leave as a line of attack against Silverman, who helped shepherd the legislation.

Lightfoot and Davis both emphasize that their candidates support the idea of paid family leave, but object to the way it’s being implemented. Both argue that it benefits non-D.C. residents, like people who work in the District but live in Maryland and Virginia.

“The mayor thinks that doing [paid family leave] the way Silverman has is unnecessarily divisive,” says Lightfoot.

Silverman, who is Jewish, was observing Yom Kippur on Wednesday when the news broke, according to her campaign manager, Zach Weinstein.

In a statement several hours later, she addressed the mayor’s line of attack that her focus was national, rather than local. “Yes, we are one of only three countries in the world without paid family leave. That is embarrassing,” the statement says. “However, the mayor will have to point to me where getting [the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs] to enforce our building code and issue permits on time is on the national agenda, or getting [the Department of Employment Services] to implement the First Source law properly so residents truly have a first shot at work in construction.”

Silverman and Bowser have clashed over issues beyond family leave. An ally of Bowser’s, Josh Lopez, resigned from the D.C. Housing Authority’s board of directors after hosting a rally during which a speaker referred to Silverman as a “fake Jew.” Silverman told The Post about a tense meeting with Bowser over Lopez.

Lopez has already thrown his support behind Reeder, The Post reports.

Lightfoot insists that Bowser’s decision is not personal and is entirely about policy. “The mayor has disagreed with many, many people and I’ve never known her to hold a grudge,” he says.

Silverman too characterized their disagreements as policy-oriented. “I’ve spent four years fighting for tax dollars to be spent on affordable housing, not tax breaks for developers; a DCRA that actually works for businesses and residents instead of working against them; high quality public schools and adult education that prepares our residents for the jobs of the present and the future,” her statement says. “Sometimes that means I’ve clashed with the mayor, but I’ve consistently been an advocate for working families and local businesses.”

In November, Bowser has no major competition and will likely sail to reelection. There are two At-large council seats on the ballot, one of which is reserved for a non-Democrat. Aside from Silverman and Reeder, the At-Large ballot includes Democratic Councilmember Anita Bonds, Republican Ralph Chittams, Libertarian Denise Hicks, Statehood Green David Schwartzman, and independent Rustin Lewis.

Lightfoot says that Bowser has waited to endorse until now because she wanted to see who would make the ballot. “The mayor’s been following this race for some time,” he says. “Her primary concern was her reelection and other Democrats winning their primaries. Obviously that worked out very well.”

This story has been updated with a statement from Elissa Silverman.