With the Washington, D.C. mayoral race still in its infancy, rhetoric from the six major Democratic contenders appears populist, attempting to reach across all sectors of the D.C. population.

This is particularly noteworthy given the District’s historical divisions across socioeconomic and racial lines. Recent economic progress has alleviated the situation in some wards, but this progress has not translated across all neighborhoods. Government professor Mark Rom pointed to the recent D.C. Council push to raise the minimum wage as further evidence of economic tension in the District.

On Sept. 12, Mayor Vincent Gray vetoed the Large Retailer Accountability Act, which would have required large retail employers such as Walmart to pay employees $12.50 per hour. The Living Wage for All of D.C., a bill introduced by mayoral candidate and council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), is now before the council. The bill seeks to raise the minimum wage for all employees in Washington, D.C.., from $8.25 to $10.25 over the next two years.

“Washington, D.C., has become more prosperous and safe in recent years, but large swaths of the public have not shared in that prosperity, hence the discussions of ‘living wages,'” Rom said.

Busboys and Poets owner and mayoral candidate Andy Shallal agreed.

“One of the problems that we have right now is the fact that this city does not have a unified vision that says this city must work for everyone, not just for some,” Shallal said.

These campaign messages run parallel with those expressed during the recent New York mayoral race, during which Democratic mayor-elect Bill de Blasio defeated Republican opponent Joe Lhota (GSB ’76) by 49 percentage points – the largest margin of victory since Edward Koch won by a 68 percent margin in 1985. De Blasio’s victory reflected a growing dissatisfaction with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his pro-business policies, with many seeing Bloomberg as favoring the wealthy in New York City.

In the District, many of the Democratic candidates are implementing a similar policy by emphasizing wards that need more economic support. For example, candidate and Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) has proposed creating the position of deputy mayor, who would solely address the needs of District residents living east of the Anacostia River. This is a primary black area that has not seen the same boost in economic development in recent years that U Street and Columbia Heights have.

“The deputy mayor would coordinate the delivery of services to a large part of our city that for a long time has been underserved and underdeveloped,” Bowser Campaign Chairperson Bill Lightfoot said.

In addition to economic disparities in the region, Rom focused on the racial aspects of the campaign. If Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) or Wells were elected, either could be the first white mayor in the District’s history since self-rule was instated in 1975. Detroit, which has also had a history of black mayors, elected Mike Duggan (D) its first white mayor in its Nov. 5 election.

“The racial aspects of the election will bear watching,” Rom said. “D.C. has not had a white mayor ever, at least not since home rule, but it is now a majority-white city with two white councilmembers in the race.”

Rom, however, added that the Detroit race had been decided by competency, not by racial tendencies; Duggan had a strong reputation of being a “Mr. Fix-It.”

Regardless of the lines that divide the District, however, the region remains largely Democratic. No Republican candidates have announced intentions to run for the mayoral office, and all mayors since 1975 have been Democratic.