Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office didn’t answer repeated questions about whether she directed the agencies—which don’t typically wade into politics—to tweet.

Carolyn Kaster / AP Photo

When there’s money involved, things often turn ugly. But the fight over D.C.’s budget has been particularly barbed this year, with the mayor waging a full-court press over several of her priorities—through press releases, media events, and her social media accounts. Even more unusually, a couple of city agencies have jumped into the fray on Twitter, and in at least one case directly attacked a member of the D.C. Council by name.

Some of these disagreements have manifested themselves with a barrage of graphs and other multimedia. Take the D.C. Circulator, which the mayor made free to ride earlier this year, to the tune of $3.1 million. Members of the D.C. Council’s transportation committee have questioned that decision, asking whether it would truly benefit residents. The mayor’s office responded first with data indicating that, in the three months since the city-run bus was made free, ridership is up over last year. And then, Bowser tweeted out a truly … fascinating video on the topic.

(For the record, one of the authors of this piece thinks this video is catchy. The other … disagrees).

What else is the mayor fighting over? At issue are a handful of programs: restoring a commercial tax hike (Bowser wants it, Mendelson doesn’t); the expansion of the childcare tax credit (some councilmembers think it should only go to families that make less than $150,000, Bowser thinks everyone should get it); $17.4 million in workforce development programs (Bowser wants it restored to the budget); $8.5 million in housing funds (Bowser wants it in the Housing Production Trust Fund, At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds wants to fund housing vouchers); $3 million for the D.C. attorney general’s violence prevention program (Bowser’s administration says it steps on the work of her Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement), among others.

Perhaps most strikingly, the social media accounts of several D.C. agencies have jumped into the fray. The Metropolitan Police Department’s official Twitter account went after Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen by name over funding for the department. Allen is the chair of the Council’s committee on public safety, which has direct oversight over D.C. police.

And D.C. Public Schools retweeted the mayor’s complaint about funding for a study abroad program.

Bowser’s office didn’t answer repeated questions about whether she directed the agencies—which don’t typically wade into politics—to tweet.

Longtime D.C. reporter Tom Sherwood told DCist that such tweets are both “unprecedented and shortsighted.”

Tommy Wells, the director of the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment wrote on Twitter that, “We can say this is the amount of funding we need to do our job. Supporting the Mayor’s budget is not a political act by definition. It’s a factual statement by a public employee.” He went on to say that the D.C. police tweet “doesn’t personally insult the CM by advocating for a position.” But then, when challenged by Ward 5 resident Tom Bridge that “People can have politics, agencies need to serve all of us,” Wells wrote, “I appreciate the distinction.”

In sum, these disagreements actually represent only a small portion of the $15.5 billion budget. But you wouldn’t know it based on the fervor with which the mayor’s office is taking the offensive.

In a statement emailed to DCist, Bowser press secretary Susana Castillo said: “A healthy public dialogue ensures the public knows what will and what will not receive funding. Social media allows for direct engagement between residents and policymakers and for greater transparency as the Council finalizes the budget.”

Indeed Bowser is known for taking to Twitter, in particular, to communicate with residents—most often with specialized hashtags. She was once named the second best mayor in the country at using the social media outlet.

Castillo also echoed comments that Chairman Phil Mendelson made on the Kojo Nnamdi Show’s Politics Hour on Friday, saying that “the ongoing budget debate is not personal—it is about policy.”

D.C.’s revenue growth is forecast to slow down, meaning that lawmakers have less new money to work with. (After D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson called the mayor’s budget “not fiscally responsible,” given the slowdown, a Bowser spokesperson told the Washington Post, “The comments by Council’s auditors and $2 will get you a ride on the Metrobus. But thanks to the mayor’s Fair Shot budget proposal, you can save yourself reading the Council’s auditor’s comments and ride Circulator free forever.”) So this fighting over the scraps might very well be the new norm.

Anyway, see the drama for yourself:

Filed Under: budget, d.c. council,