{"id":2604080,"date":"2026-05-18T15:25:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/local-restaurant-group-backs-kenyan-mcduffie-for-dc-mayor\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:30:19","slug":"local-restaurant-group-backs-kenyan-mcduffie-for-dc-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/local-restaurant-group-backs-kenyan-mcduffie-for-dc-mayor\/","title":{"rendered":"Local restaurant group backs Kenyan McDuffie for DC mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flocal-restaurant-group-backs-kenyan-mcduffie-for-dc-mayor%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2604080&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Washington, D.C.restaurant industry group, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan washington (RAMW), is entering the mayoral race by endorsing centrist councilman Kenyan McDuffie over Janeese Lewis George. The group has been a longtime supporter of current Mayor Muriel Bowser, and it says McDuffie would focus on results like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/adams-remains-frontrunner-in-wide-open-race-to-be-nycs-next-mayor-poll-shows\/\" title=\"Adams Remains Frontrunner In Wide-Open ... To Be NYC\u2019s Next ..., Poll Shows\">improving public safety<\/a>, strengthening neighborhood commercial corridors, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/petition-to-recall-socialist-recently-elected-to-los-angeles-city-council-approved-for-circulation\/\" title=\"Petition To Recall Socialist Recently Elected To Los Angeles City Council Approved For Circulation\">supporting small businesses<\/a>, and streamlining city government.<\/p>\n<p>RAMW represents more than 1,500 restaurants across D.C., Northern Virginia, and nearby Maryland and operates a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marriott-att-airbnbheres-the-list-of-corporations-announcing-they-wont-donate-to-gop-lawmakers-who-objected-to-electoral-votes-from-contested-states\/\" title=\"Marriott, AT&amp;T, Airbnb\u2026Here\u2019s The List Of Corporations Announcing They Won\u2019t Donate To GOP Lawmakers Who Objected To Electoral Votes From Contested States\">political action committee<\/a> and immigration policy advocacy. It cites McDuffie\u2019s proposed plan to simplify permitting and licensing through a single digital portal, create AI tools to speed up opening for businesses, and establish a fund to help small businesses with rent support to avoid eviction.<\/p>\n<p>The endorsement also reflects broader business alignment in the district: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-senate-race-democrat-tim-ryan-touts-bbb-amnesty\/\" title=\"Ohio Senate ...: Democrat Tim Ryan Touts BBB Amnesty\">local business groups<\/a> have largely backed McDuffie, while Lewis George\u2019s approach is described as more left-leaning and compared to policies associated with New York City. lewis George\u2019s campaign, when asked about what her management could mean, highlights \u201creduce red tape and rent for all small businesses,\u201d while her platform includes a one-stop licensing and permitting system and proposals affecting property taxes on vacant commercial property.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"260\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>\u2018s restaurant industry trade group has waded into the district\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/local-politics\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11435\">mayoral race<\/a>, backing moderate councilman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kenyan-mcduffie\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"6625\">Kenyan McDuffie<\/a> over socialist <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3899596\/potential-successors-to-mayor-muriel-bowser\/\">Janeese Lewis George<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, or RAMW, has been a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ramw.org\/articles\/press-release\/ramw-announces-mayor-muriel-bowser-2026-duke-zeibert-capital-achievement\">staunch supporter<\/a> of current Mayor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/muriel-bowser\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2963\">Muriel Bowser<\/a> throughout her tenure. Their backing of McDuffie, an ally of Bowser\u2019s, continues the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/business\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8763\">business<\/a> group\u2019s support for more centrist-leaning candidates, bucking Lewis George\u2019s more leftist campaign, often compared to that of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york-city\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"286\">New York<\/a> Mayor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/zohran-mamdani\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11802\">Zohran Mamdani<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4572471\/dc-restaurant-group-backs-kenyan-mcduffie-mayor-over-janeese-lewis-george\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DC restaurant group backs Bowser-style Kenyan McDuffie for mayor over Mamdani-style Janeese Lewis George<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4571561\/spencer-pratt-for-the-dogs-animal-abuse-campaign\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Spencer Pratt is \u2018for the dogs\u2019 in animal abuse campaign<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4570452\/karen-bass-fires-back-spencer-pratt-campaign-ads\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Karen Bass fires back at Spencer Pratt\u2019s \u2018violent\u2019 AI campaign ads<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4489668\/kenyan-mcduffie-centrist-dc-mayor-campaign-janeese-lewis-george\/\">KENYAN MCDUFFIE EMPHASIZES CENTRIST PROPOSALS COMPARED TO LEWIS GEORGE\u2019S \u2018NEW YORK CITY PLAYBOOK\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cKenyan McDuffie emphasizes a results-oriented approach to governance, improving public safety, focusing on supporting small businesses, modernizing city government, and strengthening neighborhood commercial corridors,\u201d RAMW said in a statement on the endorsement.<\/p>\n<p>The group represents more than 1,500 restaurants in D.C., Northern Virginia, and the Maryland suburbs of the district. In Washington, D.C.\u2019s vibrant food scene, the restaurant industry means a lot for local businesses and the local economy. RAMW has a Foodservice <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pacs\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1911\">Political Action Committee<\/a> and is active in local immigration policy <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ramw.org\/immigration\">advocacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The restaurant group said they were backing McDuffie due to his proposed policies of streamlining permitting and licensing processes into a single digital portal, creating an AI tool system to help local businesses open more quickly and creating a fund for small business rent support for those at risk of eviction. The statement did not mention Lewis George.<\/p>\n<p>The endorsement of McDuffie also comes at a time when New York City businesses and restaurants have been wary of the business policies coming from Mamdani, a politician Lewis George has tried to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/washington-dc\/2025\/11\/20\/janeese-lewis-george-bowser-dc-mayor-election-zohran-mamdani\">emulate<\/a>. Several high-profile New York City restaurateurs suspended their expansion plans in the Big Apple after Mamdani\u2019s election, the <em>New York Post<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/12\/business\/nyc-restaurateur-cancels-expansion-plans-following-mamdani-victory-im-not-signing\/\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>D.C.\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/washington\/news\/2026\/05\/14\/kenyan-mcduffie-janeese-lewis-george-dc-mayor-race.html\">business establishment community<\/a> has largely backed McDuffie, with RAMW being the latest to support him.<\/p>\n<p>When reached for comment on what a possible Lewis George administration would mean for D.C., Lewis George\u2019s campaign pointed to her platform of \u201creduce red tape and rent for all small businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/economy\/4521811\/zohran-mamdani-acknowledges-troubling-job-numbers-pushes-higher-taxes\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4521811\">MAMDANI ACKNOWLEDGES \u2018TROUBLING\u2019 JOB NUMBERS WHILE HE PUSHES FOR HIGHER TAXES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lewis George, who has pulled in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3914740\/janeese-lewis-george-breaks-dc-campaign-filing-system-massive-fundraising-haul\/\">massive<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3914740\/janeese-lewis-george-breaks-dc-campaign-filing-system-massive-fundraising-haul\/\">fundraising<\/a> numbers so far in the race, also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/janeesefordc.com\/platform\/reduce-red-tape-rent-for-all-small-businesses\/\">argues for<\/a> a streamlined, \u201cone-stop shop\u201d licensing and permitting process, while advocating an increase in property taxes on long-term vacant commercial spaces and expanding the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >small business property tax credit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>RAWM did not respond to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>\u2018s request for comment on why they supported McDuffie over Lewis George.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RAMW backs Kenyan McDuffie over Janeese Lewis George in D.C. mayoral race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2604081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-collage-drba37bbr-1777404509425-e1777406118266.jpg?1779110744&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[38753,79884,70910,79883,72028],"class_list":["post-2604080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-community-support","tag-dc-mayoral-race","tag-kenyan-mcduffie","tag-local-restaurant-group","tag-washington-dc-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-collage-drba37bbr-1777404509425-e1777406118266.jpg?1779110744&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604080"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604084,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604080\/revisions\/2604084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}