Janeese Lewis George (born April 30, 1988) is an American lawyer, politician, and activist in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She is the Member of the

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state ...

from Ward 4. George is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Elected in November 2020, George became the first self-described

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

to serve as a member of the Council since

Hilda Mason Hilda Mason (June 14, 1916 – December 16, 2007) was an American politician and statehood advocate in Washington, D.C. Mason was a member of the D.C. Statehood Party and served as an at-large member of the Council of the District of Colum ...

was defeated for re-election in 1998.

Early life and education

George was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of a postal worker, and attended the School Without Walls in the

Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., located west of the White House and downtown Washington, in the Northwest quadrant. It is bounded roughly by 17th Street NW to the east, Rock Cr ...

neighborhood. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and government from St. John's University. She earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

, working as a waitress to pay her tuition.

Career

After graduating from law school, George worked as a prosecutor in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

In 2014, she returned to D.C. to care for her ailing father and served in the office of

Attorney General of the District of Columbia The Attorney General for the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District of Columbia. While attorneys general previously were appointed by the mayor, District of Columbia voters approved a charter amendment in 2010 that ...

Karl Racine Karl Anthony Racine (born December 14, 1962) is a Haitian-American lawyer and politician. He is the first independently elected Attorney General of the District of Columbia, a position he has held since January 2015. Before that, he was the manag ...

. George was a member of the

American Federation of Government Employees The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is an American labor union representing over 670,000 employees of the federal government, about 5,000 employees of the District of Columbia, and a few hundred private sector employees, mo ...

Local 1403 while working at the Attorney General's office. As a juvenile prosecutor in DC, she used experiences from losing peers to violence during her upbringing to help her colleagues. Before launching her campaign for the Council, George worked for the

District of Columbia State Board of Education The District of Columbia State Board of Education (SBOE) is an independent executive branch agency of the Government of the District of Columbia, in the United States. The SBOE provides advocacy and policy guidance for the District of Columbia Pub ...

2020 campaign

In 2019, George launched her campaign for the

. George was the subject of attack ads by

Democrats for Education Reform Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is a New York-based political action committee which focuses on encouraging the Democratic Party to support public education reform and charter schools. History DFER emerged around the same time as the Ed ...

, an advocacy group that supports charter schools, over claims that she would defund the police. She was endorsed by a significant number of progressive groups, including

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

, the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Nev ...

and the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

. George was the first candidate to reach the limit in matching funds through the District's public financing program since it was initiated. The program provides matching funds but limits donations to $50 per supporter, of which she had almost 1,200 by March 2020. On June 2, she defeated incumbent

Brandon Todd Brandon Michael Todd (born August 13, 1985) is an athlete known for his high vertical jump and ability to slam dunk a basketball despite being 5'5" tall. Brandon was a four-year starter on the Cambridge High School (CHS) basketball team and a bre ...

by an 11.7-point margin. She was elected to the

in November 2020.

Personal life

George is married to Kyle George, who she met at a high school graduation party.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Janeese Lewis 1988 births 21st-century American politicians African-American people in Washington, D.C., politics American community activists Howard University alumni Living people Members of the Democratic Socialists of America People from Washington, D.C. Progressivism in the United States Washington, D.C., Democrats 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people