@MarkLeeDC

Small-Business Director | Formerly @DCNightlifeDCNC ExecDir | @Spotlight4DC Advisory Board | Former @WashBlade Columnist | @wcp Award: 'BestOfDC' Best Columnist

 Washington, DC
washingtonblade.com/author/marklee
Joined October 2012
  • Tweets34.4K
  • Following1.2K
  • Followers1.8K
2KMedia
Annals of lawmaking clarity: DC foie gras ban is so imprecisely written that it could wind up banning chopped liver, writes @JHWeissmann dc.citycast.fm/opinion/d-c-s…

D.C.'s Foie Gras Ban Could Actually Ban Chopped Liver, Too · City Cast DC

Activists say it's not their intent. But the law's language is unclear — and highlights a big problem with D.C.'s initiative process.

dc.citycast.fm
3
3
3
18
4,631
Mark Lee retweeted
Stan Veuger
@stanveuger5h
"But the very fact that activists are having to call in lawmakers to clean up potential boo-boos illustrates the preposterousness of D.C.’s current ballot initiative system. The process has made the city a playground for activist groups that are sometimes less than transparent about their causes, and only semi-competent at writing legislation." -- @JHWeissmann dc.citycast.fm/opinion/d-c-s…

D.C.'s Foie Gras Ban Could Actually Ban Chopped Liver, Too · City Cast DC

Activists say it's not their intent. But the law's language is unclear — and highlights a big problem with D.C.'s initiative process.

dc.citycast.fm
1
6
1
20
2,328
DC Candidate List for 345 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats: MORE THAN *4-in-5* are basically random volunteers. • 82% of seats have *NO CANDIDATE* or *ONLY ONE CANDIDATE* on ballot • 18% of seats have competing candidates on ballot >LIST: dcboe.org/getContentAsset/55…
1
80
Mark Lee retweeted
Stan Veuger
@stanveugerOct 24
The out-of-town nutters pushing Initiative 86 (ban on foie gras and chicken livers) literally want to force us to eat peanut hulls.
Suzi Gerber, PhD@ChefSuziGerberOct 23
I know lots of people who avoid restaurants that serve foie gras and veal for example. DC is a small city. Perhaps if the majority vote for this and that ingredient leaves restaurants would get more rather than less business… no one talks about that idea. 🤔
14
13
5
98
12,661
Mark Lee retweeted
The Hill
@thehillOct 24
José Andrés joins fight against proposed DC foie gras ban thehill.com/homenews/campaig…

José Andrés joins fight against proposed DC foie gras ban

World renowned chef José Andrés is entering the battle over Washington’s proposed ban on foie gras, a delicacy which animal rights activists have called cruel. Andrés responded to a proponent of th…

thehill.com
9
9
4
32
16,562
José Andrés joins D.C.'s escalating foie gras fight, while tickets are flying for Butterworth’s foie gras menu next week. Including a full-foie buyout one night 👀 axios.com/local/washington-d…

José Andrés joins D.C.'s escalating foie gras fight

The celebrity chef is speaking out against a proposed foie gras ban, while a Trump-world-connected restaurateur plans an election-week protest dinner — and a potential legal battle.

axios.com
5
7
7
57
25,795
DC Candidate List for 345 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats: MORE THAN *4-in-5* are basically random volunteers. • 82% of seats have *NO CANDIDATE* or *ONLY ONE CANDIDATE* on ballot • 18% of seats have competing candidates on ballot >LIST: dcboe.org/getContentAsset/55…
1
1
148
Guys, this foie gras ban is so sloppily written that it would ban Jewish delis from selling chopped chicken liver. Absolutely vote no on this shit.
68
95
83
789
201,316
Mark Lee retweeted
Jessica Sidman@jsidmanOct 22
Heavy hitter getting into the foie gras ban ballot initiative debate. I would guess a majority of chefs in DC are against a ban, but they don’t want to say so publicly for fear of backlash.
Chef José Andrés 🕊️🥘🍳
@chefjoseandresOct 22
Sure but then let’s ban beef and pork and chicken….and also vegetables too because is a study that says that maybe indications of suffering…..we have children hungry in USA and the World….lets end hunger and then we talk….. 😇
21
10
4
221
64,496
Republicans nationwide have introduced hundreds of messaging bills targeting DC in the time I've lived here. I don't think liberals should be any happier when it's outside progressive groups doing it through ballot measures
Chris Kennedy
@ChrisJKennedyOct 22
I'm also voting against this because I hate that DC's ballot initiative system has become a playground for out-of-state progressive groups seeking national attention for their causes.
1
4
38
1,833
I would sincerely love our Council to take a minute to imagine a person who lives in DC, has a job, is a net fiscal contributor, and doesn't commit crimes. What have you done over the past year to improve the life of someone like that? What will you do next year?
127
142
39
2,124
229,809
If there was ever a better reason to become circumspect about the DC *ONLY-ADVISORY* ballot initiative process, it would be this *RIDICULOUS* proposed #Initiative86 measure. >via @axios News Report: axios.com/local/washington-d…

D.C.'s foie gras fight gets messy

Outside money, duck mascots and a chef plotting legal resistance. As voters weigh a foie gras ban, the battle over the luxury liver is heating up — and could continue long after Election Day.

axios.com
1
1
1
288
DC Candidate List for 345 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats: MORE THAN *4-in-5* are basically random volunteers. • 82% of seats have *NO CANDIDATE* or *ONLY ONE CANDIDATE* on ballot • 18% of seats have competing candidates on ballot >LIST: dcboe.org/getContentAsset/55…
1
1
204
The D.C. man suspected of shooting a National Guardsman who tried to break up a fight went to prison for shooting at a D.C. special officer, had two other gun convictions and was on supervised release. trib.al/tovUFTX

DC bar temporarily closed after National Guardsman is shot outside

Suspect Jerrell Jackson was on supervised release and had three prior gun convictions, including for shooting at a D.C. special police officer.

nbcwashington.com
11
11
3
29
8,140
‘Some Progressives Tried To Abolish the Tipped Minimum Wage. Now They're Backtracking.’ “Policymakers across the country are confronting the unfortunate economic results of prohibiting restaurants paying servers a lower base wage supplemented by tips.” reason.com/2026/10/17/some-p…

Some progressives tried to abolish the tipped minimum wage. Now they're backtracking.

Policymakers across the country are confronting the unfortunate—and predictable—economic results of prohibiting restaurants from paying servers a lower base wage supplemented by tips.

reason.com
1
6
276
Oh look, another delayed housing project. "In its filing, High Street blames ongoing adverse conditions in the market for commercial real estate development in the District for its inability to secure financing."
UrbanTurf
@UrbanTurf_DCOct 20
230-Unit Shaw Project Needs More Time to Get Off the Ground. dc.urbanturf.com/articles/bl…
1
5
28
2,422
‘Real Estate Investors Are Fleeing DC: New Development in DC Has Slowed As Investors Move to Markets with More Job Growth and More Business-Friendly Legislatures’ >Via @CityCast_DC >LINK: dc.citycast.fm/business-deve…
7
247
The degree to which the groups that showed up to the hearing didn’t really take Mayor Williams seriously stunned me. The guy ushered in our golden age of growth—he knows what he’s talking about!
Cuneyt Dil
@cuneytdilOct 19
D.C.'s economy is down. Taxes could go up. axios.com/local/washington-d…

D.C. tax hikes spark debate over city's economic future

Leaders are weighing a long list of tax hikes to stave off budget cuts

axios.com
6
16
4
243
13,326
DC Candidate List for 345 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats: MORE THAN *4-in-5* are basically random volunteers. – 82% have either *NO CANDIDATE* or *ONLY ONE CANDIDATE* – 18% have competing candidates >LIST: dcboe.org/getContentAsset/55…
2
1
300
The District's high rent delinquency rate, weakened labor force, bureaucratic bottlenecks and unpredictable zoning processes make it hard for investors to see how or when they’ll make their money back. I break down each issue here: dc.citycast.fm/business-deve…

Real Estate Investors Are Fleeing D.C. · City Cast DC

New development in D.C. has slowed as investors move to markets with more job growth and more business-friendly legislatures.

dc.citycast.fm
1
9
18
971
Load more