IN LAUNCHING what seemed an improbable candidacy for D.C. mayor 19 months ago, Muriel E. Bowser (D) showed a keen understanding of the paradox that would fuel the District’s vote: a desire for both continuity and change. Residents were buoyed by signs of a prospering city — improving schools, safer streets, growing population and a diversifying economy — and they didn’t want a major change in direction. But they were sick and tired of the ethical scandals that have dogged the District’s political class.

Ms. Bowser, Ward 4’s representative on the D.C. Council, promised trustworthy leadership as mayor and tapped into a justified unease that the city’s prosperity is not being shared across the board. She promised to do more, faster, to help those left out of the city’s boom.

By defeating the incumbent mayor in April’s Democratic primary and then on Tuesday vanquishing two opponents with longer track records, Ms. Bowser demonstrated a political prowess and discipline that belied critics’ view of her as a lightweight. She will need both strengths when she takes office in January as the city’s seventh mayor. Challenges — from whether to push ahead on school boundary changes or help finance a soccer stadium to how to deal with an expected shortfall in city revenues — will confront her even as she attempts to make good on her campaign promises…

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