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5 months ago
22
Washington DC's woke Mayor Muriel Bowser will travel on a taxpayer-funded jaunt to Las Vegas with her team just hours from now.
It comes just weeks after the Democrat faced backlash for attending the lavish Masters golf tournament that cost $5,000 per person, Bowser personally revealed.
The mayor will travel with a team of 14 on an 'economic mission' to the International Council of Shopping Centers at the Wynn Las Vegas on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, according to her public calendar.
'Mayor Bowser will attend the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) to attract retail to the District of Columbia,' the description states.
'This economic mission is coordinated by the Washington, DC Economic Partnership, which has organized the District's presence at ICSC since 2001,' her office added in the event's explanation.
Mayor Muriel Bowser will travel on a taxpayer-funded jaunt to Las Vegas with her team next week
The Democrat will attend the trip to the Wynn Las Vegas with a team of fourteen
In a separate press release, the mayor's office said 'we know that Washingtonians in every part of DC want access to fantastic amenities.
'From the Lidl in Ward 7 to the Wegmans in Ward 3, those are conversations that started at ICSC.
The mayor's team added, 'Through programs like the Food Access Fund and the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, we have made good progress in filling amenity gaps, but there is still more to do to ensure greater accessibility and equity – and filling those gaps and supporting the continued transformation of Downtown will be a focus of this trip.'
The traveling delegation's aims for the trip are 'expanding the Washington, D.C. brand', 'generating business leads for major development projects', 'fostering business relationships' and 'engaging with new prospects including retailers and brokers.'
Mayor Bowser faced intense scrutiny for using taxpayer money to fund a trip to one of the most exclusive sports events in the world, the US Masters in Augusta, Georgia, last week.
The mayor's official schedule said that on Saturday April 13, she would be traveling to the Peach state 'as part of a sports and economic development visit.'
The communications director for Bowser's office, Susan Castillo, told DC NewsNow this week that the mayor was invited by two people who are 'spearheading' a plan to rejuvenate two areas of the city.
Bowser was invited by the Task Force to Shape Future of Gallery Place/Chinatown Neighborhood chairs Jodie McLean and Deborah Ratner Salzberg, Castillo told the website.
Bowser (pictured center) recently attended a lavish $5000 per person golf tournament
Bowser was there to see Scottie Scheffler win the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club
Castillo went on to say that Bowser was willing to travel to any city or any country in the world in order to further her administration's interests.
WUSA reports that along for the ride with Bowser was senior advisor Beverly Perry and two other aides.
The station reports that the purpose of the trip was also to capitalize on sports opportunities for the city that already plays host to five professional sports teams.
Earlier this month, Bowser was roundly criticized after boasting that crime is down in D.C., compared to last year even though a recent string of violence has sent residents fleeing for Virginia and Maryland suburbs.
Despite an overall 13 percent dip this year January 1 through April 2 compared to the same time period last year, the District of Columbia is still experiencing a rise in crime compared to the norm in years prior to 2023.
It comes after 2023 was recorded as the deadliest year in more than two decades. D.C. also had the largest spike in violent crime out of any other major U.S. city.
Mayor Muriel Bowser faced backlash earlier this month for praising a decrease in crime from the second quarter in 2023 to 2024, but residents claim they do feel any safer and many are fleeing to Virginia and Maryland suburbs to escape the violence and threats
Overall violent crime is down but the MPD notes that the statistics for 2024 are 'preliminary' and subject to change throughout the year as more information becomes available
While some stats are down from 2023, there is still a general upwards trend from years prior. One of the largest crime statistics in D.C. are a result of carjackings, which reached an all-time-high in 2023 but is down 31% so far this year
From January 1 through April 2 last year to this year there was a 13% decrease in overall crime – after a record-high crime year in 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Tiffany Henyard, 40, of Dolton, Illinois, has repeatedly been dubbed America's Worst Mayor
While data does reveal a decrease between the specific time period last year to this year, residents are sharing an overall sentiment that crime is on the rise and they are feeling increasingly less safe in D.C. neighborhoods.
As evident, a person was robbed at gunpoint just blocks from the Hart Senate Office Building in April by two individuals, at least one of which was armed with a gun.
Whilst frustrations may run high with DC's mayor, it is Dalton, Illinois who claim to have 'America's worst mayor.'
Mayor Tiffany Henyard is under federal investigation, and was recently served federal subpoenas seeking records about trips taken by city officials and potential financial mismanagement.
A trip to Las Vegas in 2023 was allegedly one of several taxpayer funded jaunts Henyard took that totaled over $102,000.
Since her election in 2021, Henyard has faced allegations of corruption, fraud and financial mismanagement, including a lawsuit filed a month ago claiming she worked to cover-up a sexual assault on the trip to Las Vegas.
The 40-year-old municipal leader has developed a reputation for her confrontational antics, failure to do her job, alleged corruption and apparent disdain for her constituents, whom she has berated publicly and once with the assistance of a DJ.
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