Muriel Bowser, Councilmember, Ward 4
Council of the District of Columbia

Muriel Bowser, a fifth generation Washingtonian, brings a pragmatic, no‐nonsense approach to legislation, oversight, and policy‐making in her hometown.  She was first elected Ward 4 Councilmember in a special election in 2007. Eighteen months later, she was re‐elected with more than 75 percent of voters endorsing her ambitious agenda focused on improving neighborhoods, transforming schools, and revitalizing corridors.

In her first full term on the Council, Councilmember Bowser now chairs the Committee on Government Operations and is the Council’s representative on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Board of Directors. This committee is responsible for matters relating to elections, campaign finance, general services, personnel, grants management, government procurement, matters relating to the general operations and services of government, and matters relating to WMATA. She has previously chaired the Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation and the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs. Councilmember Bowser strongly believes that effective grassroots leadership changes communities. She was twice elected to serve her Riggs Park neighborhood as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and served in executive posts in ANC 4B, the Lamond Riggs Citizens Association, and the Ward 4 Democrats. She now works in partnership with Ward 4’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, neighborhood associations and business groups.

The Councilmember worked in local and regional government for nearly a decade prior to joining the Council. She managed service delivery at a mini‐town hall in Montgomery County, Maryland; she oversaw a downtown transportation management district; and she worked with over 10 local jurisdictions with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). Councilmember Bowser’s participation in downtown revitalization and transportation planning helped transform communities and prepared her to advance Ward 4’s priorities.  The Councilmember is currently Chair of COG’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB).

The Councilmember is regarded as a balanced thinker and fierce advocate for Ward 4 interests. In endorsing her re‐election, the Washington Post editorial board wrote, “Muriel Bowser didn’t need much time to get up to speed on the job. She has proven to be a perceptive legislator, smart in her questioning of legislation, and collaborative in her approach to government but not afraid to make hard decisions.”  Councilmember Bowser was honored in May, 2010 by Running Start, an organization that “provides young women and girls with the skills and confidence they need to become the political leaders of tomorrow.” In May, 2011, the Councilmember was named one of City Year Washington, DC’s Idealists of the Year. City Year said, “not only is she an idealist, but she is willing to back that passion with tireless effort and a belief in the power of the community.”

Councilmember Bowser earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Chatham College and a Master's degree in Public Policy from American University. It is with extreme pride and gratitude that she serves the nearly 80,000 residents of Ward 4.

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