Image by Mike Maguire licensed under Creative Commons.

A Republican city council candidate in Alexandria hopes to woo voters with his technology pitch, DC's mayor decided to back public funding for local elections, some candidates won't receive Montgomery County's inaugural public financing for county-level races. Want to stay on top of our 2018 election coverage? Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

DC's mayor decides to back public funding for campaigns after all
Taking many by surprise, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a bill Tuesday creating public financing for local campaigns, and promised to fund it in her next budget. The DC Council unanimously approved it last month, but the mayor had expressed opposition, saying the money would be better spent elsewhere. (WAMU / Martin Austermuhle)

JUFJ Campaign Fund grades the DC Council
JUFJ Campaign Fund, the political arm of the progressive group Jews United for Justice, endorsed Leon Andrews, David Grosso, Robert White, and Trayon White in 2016. The fund doesn't yet list 2018 endorsements on its website but a council vote scorecard released this week might offer hints about its leanings. (JUFJ Campaign Fund)

Local GOP seeks a path back into DC government
Six percent of DC voters are registered as Republicans, but the DC GOP is hoping to boost its influence in the District. One focus for the party: Ward 6, where Republican attorney Michael Bekesha is challenging Democratic incumbent Charles Allen and voters register Republican at close to twice the district-wide rate. (Julia Airey / Washington Times)

Change to the tipped wage makes the ballot
Tipped employees in DC currently make a base rate of $3.33 per hour. Initiative 77, which was authorized for the June ballot last week and will appear alongside the District's primary elections, would raise that rate to the DC minimum wage by 2026. (Fenit Nirappil / Post)

Who's who in the mayoral race
DC's candidate filing deadline is a week away and, at least as of now, none of the boldface names rumored to be considering mayoral challenges have entered the race. But Mayor Muriel Bowser isn't running unopposed. Four of the dozen lesser-known candidates who have filed to challenge her talked about why they're running. (Matt Cohen / City Paper)

Teachers endorse for Montgomery council, partly
The influential teachers' “apple ballot” will include Brandy Brooks, Will Jawando, and Chris Wilhelm for Montgomery County Council at-large. The teachers' union behind it is not yet endorsing for county executive or in the fourth at-large slot, likely to go to incumbent Hans Riemer, likely ot maintain leverage in upcoming budget debates. (Louis Peck / Bethesda Beat)

MoCo council candidates fall short of public financing threshold
Montgomery County is offering public financing in county-level races for the first time this year but some would-be participants won't be in the program's inaugural class. Elections officials ruled that at-large council candidates Shruti Bhatnagar, Loretta Garcia, Paul Geller, Michele Riley, and Tim Willard didn't raise enough small-dollar contributions to qualify. (Andrew Metcalf / Bethesda Beat)

Democratic county council candidates talk liquor sales, public financing, and the M-83
Fourteen of the 33 Democratic candidates for the four available at-large seats on the Montgomery County Council met in a candidate forum at the active adult living community Leisure World last week. Another 15 Democrats will take the Leisure World stage at a follow-up forum this week. (Andrew Metcalf / Bethesda Beat)

Alexandria City Council gets its first Republican candidate
Alexandria consultant Kevin Dunne, who announced his candidacy for city council this week, is the first Republican to enter the race. His main pitch to voters, according to his campaign site, is to use technology to make the city's government more affordable, efficient, and democratic. (Alexandria Times)

Alexandria City Councilor Paul Smedberg announces re-election bid
Paul Smedberg won election to the Alexandria City Council in 2003, after finishing out of the running on his first attempt in 2000. He announced his bid for a sixth term on the council last week. (Alexa Epitropoulos / Alexandria Times)

Nonprofit exec Elizabeth Bennett-Parker to run for Alexandria City Council
Together We Bake co-director and Fruitcycle founder Elizabeth Bennett-Parker announced her candidacy last week for one of the six at-large seats on the Alexandria City Council. Bennett-Parker faces six other challengers and four incumbents in the June 12 Democratic primary. (Alexandria Times)