The mayor of the nation’s capital is a new mom, the first single mother to run the city.
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) surprised residents, political observers and some in her own administration on Monday evening, when she announced she had adopted a newborn.
Bowser, who is 45, told WUSA Channel 9 that it was the right time for her to start a family.
“I decided to start the adoption journey, just knowing that it was a great time in my life and I had so much to share with a baby,” she said. “When you sit in the seat that I’m in, you’re used to being able to make things happen, and babies have a way of letting you know that they’re in control.”
While Bowser started the adoption process late last year, she said notification that a baby was available came “much sooner than I expected,” and she brought the infant to her Colonial Village home over the weekend. She canceled a previously scheduled campaign rally and other appearances Saturday.
The baby arrived as Bowser is on track to become the first D.C. mayor elected to a second term since 2002. She faces no credible competition in the June 19 Democratic primary or the general election.
Bowser, who never married or had other children, is extremely private about her personal life. And her handling of the baby announcement was in character.
Her office declined to release the baby’s gender, name, age or photograph, as well as the circumstances of the adoption.
She also did not introduce her child on camera in her interview with WUSA, and asked for privacy in a Monday evening statement.
“As any new mother would feel — I am thrilled, nervous and looking forward to each and every stage,” Bowser tweeted. “I will be taking the next week or so to enjoy these precious moments with my new baby. I am so grateful to be able to start my family in this wonderful way.”
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SOURCE: The Washington Post, Fenit Nirappil and Martin Weil
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