Women Who Run D.C.: Bowser, Henderson, Lanier on ‘Meet the Press’

Only two days in and newly sworn-in District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser was already on “Meet the Press.”

What caused all this ruckus? No ruckus. It appears that Chuck Todd of NBC News, himself a newbie as “Meet the Press” moderator, happened to notice, if not a trend, an actual first as of Sunday.

While women make up at least half of the population, their representation is not near that percentile for representation in legislatures and public executive positions. The leadership of Washington, D.C., is a stand-out with a female triumvirate in power.

With the swearing-in of Bowser Jan. 2, Washington, D.C., becomes—yes—the only city among the country’s 50 top municipalities to have women in the three leading jobs of mayor, school chancellor and police chief.

Thus, in a heavily promoted Sunday morning segment, “The Women Who Run Washington,” Todd of “Meet the Press” interviewed Bowser, D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier in full uniform.

Bowser happily announced, “We want the whole world to know we are a city on the move.”

Todd noted that “Meet the Press” was a show usually dominated by discussions of national and international events with interviews with such female leaders as Hillary Clinton. “Well, guess what, the city is already run by all women,” he said.

Todd twice pressed Bowser—who was upbeat throughout—whether she would sue Congress over its opposition and possible challenge to enactment of Proposition 71, the marijuana legalization proposal approved by voters. Bowser, didn’t exactly take the bait, saying only, “We’re going to explore every option” and “We want to work with our Congress, and we want the will of the residents of D.C. to be enforced.”

Henderson was also upbeat, saying more and more families were opting to send their children to D.C. public schools, although many of those are sending them to charter schools, which are a part of D.C. public schools.

Addressing the issue of protests in the streets—which have been largely peaceful in the District—in the wake of Ferguson and New York, Lanier said, “I think it’s really about building those strong relationships with the community and you really have to do it every single day.”

The discussion did not include comments about recent incidents in which one man was shot and killed by police who said he fired on them, and another was wounded.

Talking about transportation in another conversation over the weekend with NBC4 News, Bowser seemed especially enthusiastic about public transportation, especially Metro, and especially buses. “Our Metro system is really the engine of this region and we have to make sure that the system has the money that it needs to continue.

“I think, really,” she said, “that our future is in the bus.”