Janeese Lewis George

Janeese Lewis George (born April 30, 1988) is an American lawyer, politician, and activist from Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 4 and a member of the Democratic Party.

Elected in November 2020, she became the first self-described democratic socialist to serve as a member of the Council since Hilda Mason was defeated for re-election in 1998. She attended the School Without Walls in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. While in high school, she was a voting student representative of DC School Board. After graduating from St. John's University, she worked in Los Angeles for AmeriCorps for one year.

As a juvenile prosecutor, she focused on diverting cases to behavioral health and restorative justice systems over criminal proceedings. In the final week before the primary, Lewis George's campaign was fined $16,000 after the Office of Campaign Finance found improper coordination between labor unions and an independent expenditure committee. Two days after the primary election on June 16, 2026, she secured the Democratic nomination and her opponent Kenyan McDuffie conceded the race.

Political views Lewis George describes herself as a democratic socialist and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Lewis George is a supporter of the District of Columbia statehood movement.

Housing In 2021, she proposed a social housing model of publicly owned and subsidized mixed-income housing.

Lewis George introduced the Extreme Heat Eviction Prevention Act of 2025, which would prevent tenant evictions on days when the temperature is predicted to be above 95 degrees. During her 2026 mayoral campaign, she called for zoning reform to increase housing supply in Washington, D.C.

Law enforcement As a candidate for DC Council, Lewis George stated that she supported divesting funding from D.C. Police into violence interruption programs and won the endorsement of Black Lives Matter DC. As a councilmember, Lewis George supported a 2023 revision of the criminal code and called Congressional efforts to block the code "part of a long history of racism".

Lewis George has introduced legislation to end cooperation between D.C. Police and ICE.

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