This year, City Cast DC is conducting our inaugural City Cast 6 awards, where we recognize six local leaders transforming six distinct industries — Politics, Food & Drink, Business & Development, Sustainability, Music, and Literature.
After months of research, interviews, and deliberation, we're proud to announce the winner of the politics category.
Gregg Pemberton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union, speaks during a House Administration Committee. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)
🏆 WINNER: James Comer and Gregg Pemberton
Chosen by our panel of experts.
These awards recognize who had the biggest impact on D.C. this year. For better or worse, that has to be Rep. James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, and D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton.
This duo was critical in helping Congress overturn D.C.’s criminal code legislation earlier this year - the first such reversal in decades. Together, Comer and Pemberton have also put a spotlight on crime in D.C., and invited even more Congressional intervention on that issue.
Additionally, Comer almost single-handedly got Congress to introduce legislation that would allow D.C. to acquire the RFK stadium site, which would bring the football team back to D.C.
They may not be our favorite people (and you can hear in the episode how pained our panel was over this decision), but there is no denying the transformative impact they have had on D.C. in 2023.
It feels sacrilegious to pick James Comer and Gregg Pemberton. But, if you look at the narrative in D.C. this year, it’s been all about crime. And because of Congress’s outsized oversight of D.C.’s affairs, these two have just played a massive role in some of the city’s priorities from the Council’s end and the Mayor’s end.
Michael Brice-Saddler, Washington Post
🙌 PEOPLE’S CHOICE: John Falcicchio’s accusers
Based on votes by listeners and readers.
Back in June of this year, multiple anonymous women came forward and accused then-Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio of sexual harassment. Falcicchio abruptly resigned, there’s an ongoing investigation, and Mayor Bowser has since revamped her office’s sexual harassment policy.
🥈 RUNNERS-UP:
Nominated by other experts in the field.
- Janeese Lewis-Geroge – Ward 4 Councilmember, who most recently introduced legislation to fund local news (woot!).
- Muriel Bowser – Might ring a bell, she’s the mayor of D.C.
Our Selection Process:
To ensure the veracity of the awards, we chatted with dozens of field experts across D.C., conducted listener and reader polls, and did our own research to come up with nominations. Finally, we had you vote to choose a "People's Choice" winner. And we had our panel of experts — Washington Post's Michael Brice-Saddler, Axios' Anna Spiegel, and City Cast's David Plotz — confer and select a winner per category.
