Washington mayor-elect Lewis George names transition team ahead of January 2 inauguration

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 — Washington, D.C. Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George on Wednesday announced her transition team as she prepares to take office on January 2, 2027. She won the November 3 mayoral election, succeeding Mayor Muriel Bowser, who did not seek re-election after nearly 12 years in office.

Levy to lead the transition; five co-chairs named

According to a statement from the mayor-elect's office, the transition director is Jennifer Levy, a Lewis George campaign adviser and former First Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the New York State Attorney General. The five transition co-chairs are Aaron Jenkins, a former Obama Administration appointee; Beatriz Otero, a former Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services; Gautam Raghavan, former Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel; Greg Akerman, a labor leader and president of the Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council; and Kimberly Perry, director of DC Action, a youth and families advocacy nonprofit.

Key hires and the first 100 days

The transition team will help Lewis George make key hiring decisions, including the selection of deputy mayors and agency directors, and plan her first 100 days in office. Her office said the team also includes chairs and leads of transition committees on key issues, and invited public servants, union officials, business leaders and other District residents to share their knowledge during the 59-day transition. Lewis George campaigned on housing affordability and universal child care, and has said she will end cooperation between the Metropolitan Police Department and federal immigration enforcement.

An 84.3 per cent win in the city's first ranked-choice mayoral race

The Associated Press projected Lewis George as the winner after she captured 84.3 per cent of the votes counted as of late Tuesday night, ahead of independent candidate Rhonda Hamilton and Statehood Green Party candidate Robert Gross. It was Washington's first mayoral contest using ranked-choice voting. The D.C. Board of Elections had not completed its count on election night and resumed counting on Wednesday morning.

(Sources: mayor-elect's office transition announcement; AP projection reported by the Washington Blade, November 4, 2026. Photo: file image of the Wilson Building, seat of D.C. government.)