In the biggest year in over a decade for D.C. politics, the city’s top political ad spender hasn’t been in the race for mayor. Instead, it’s an anti-robotaxi group.
The Coalition for Accountability and Road Safety has spent more than $2.6 million on ads in the D.C. area this year, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The group’s ads oppose autonomous vehicles and a bill the D.C. Council is weighing that would legalize commercial robotaxis in the District.
The coalition has spent more on political ads than the roughly $1.18 million Janeese Lewis George, the Democratic mayoral nominee, has spent on her campaign, according to AdImpact. The group also topped former council member Kenyan R. McDuffie, who spent about $1.4 million on ads in his losing bid against Lewis George in the June primary, according to AdImpact.
AdImpact tracks ad spending across platforms including broadcast, cable and satellite TV, as well as streaming services, radio and social media.
Waymo, a leading autonomous vehicle company, has lobbied the District for years to allow it to operate commercially in D.C., where it has been testing its cars since 2024 with human drivers behind the wheel. As Waymo has expanded to 15 cities around the United States, the D.C. government has been slow to legalize commercial robotaxis in the city.
An array of labor unions, clergy members and ride-hailing giants such as Uber and Lyft have opposed the robotaxi bill, citing concerns about safety, jobs and competition.
This issue is coming to a head as council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) seeks to move his robotaxi bill forward this fall. In October, Lewis George, the presumptive next mayor in the heavily Democratic city, came out against the bill, citing concerns over job losses and safety.
The high ad spending from the Coalition for Accountability and Road Safety shows just how fierce the battle has become over the future of robotaxis in the District. The group’s unclear origins and funders raise questions about who is behind the effort and what their interests are, according to experts on transparency in political advertising.
“The reason we want disclosure and transparency around who’s funding ads is because we think that we can usually infer something about the economic interests of that actor,” said Jennifer Heerwig, a Stony Brook University associate professor who studies money in politics.
The Coalition for Accountability and Road Safety’s website includes a form for individuals to email D.C. legislators to urge them to oppose the robotaxi bill, but it doesn’t include any information about who is behind the coalition itself.
Because the coalition is registered as a nonprofit and is engaging in issue advocacy, rather than candidate advocacy, it’s not legally required to disclose its funders, according to political advertising experts.
“It appears to be dark money, which is perfectly legal,” said Candace Turitto, a senior lecturer at the University of Maryland who studies political advertising.
People tend to evaluate ads differently when they know who is behind them, which is why political messengers often try to hide who they are from voters, according to Laura Edelson, a Northeastern University assistant professor who studies social media advertising.
“It’s effectively the Wild West,” Edelson said. “Political operatives have figured out how to hide who is actually paying for political advertising.”
The coalition has spent most of its D.C. ad dollars since July, the month the D.C. Council held a hearing on Allen’s robotaxi bill.
Since January, the group has also spent more than $800,000 on ads in Pennsylvania, nearly $40,000 in Illinois and more than $20,000 in New Jersey, all opposing autonomous vehicles, according to an analysis of AdImpact data. Nearly 75 percent of the coalition’s total ad spending this year has targeted the D.C. area.
The Coalition for Accountability and Road Safety has inserted itself into a debate that represents thousands of jobs and vast sums of money across the United States. In 2025, the venture capital firm Bond reported that Waymo had absorbed 27 percent of San Francisco’s ride-hailing market in 20 months.
“There is just so much money to be made and lost. The stakes have gotten so high with these decisions that are made on a local level that you’re seeing these types of ad campaigns being waged that you would normally see for presidential races,” said Todd Belt, a political management professor at George Washington University.
Waymo has gone to great lengths to operate in D.C., including hiring four lobbying firms over the years, filings show. Through the third quarter of this year, Waymo said, the company has spent about $1.475 million on “branded public education and awareness efforts” across digital, TV, radio and outdoor ads in D.C. That has included advertisements in The Post.
Despite Lewis George’s opposition, Allen said he would move forward with the bill this fall. Lewis George was noncommittal last month when The Post asked whether she would implement the bill if the council were to pass it without her support.
“I can’t say,” she said. But she added, “We’ll follow the laws the council passes.”
In opposing the robotaxi bill, Lewis George is aligned with some of the labor unions that have supported her. The robotaxi question could be among the first tests of her leadership if she is elected, shedding light on her relationship with unions and former council colleagues.
The New York City law firm Pitta LLP is listed as the registered agent for the Coalition for Accountability and Road Safety in New York state filings. Pitta did not respond to requests for comment, including questions about who funds the coalition.
Emails reviewed by The Post indicate that the StillWoods Group, an Annapolis-based public affairs firm, is involved in the coalition. In August, Jordan Franks from the StillWoods Group emailed the Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association. “Our coalition is called the Coalition for Accountability in Road Safety, and our efforts are focused on engaging community groups like yours to make sure neighborhood voices are part of the conversation as the D.C. Council considers legislation to expand driverless vehicle deployment in the District,” Franks wrote.
Franks also emailed Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5B’s Transportation and Public Space Committee, encouraging them to contact their council member to voice concerns about robotaxis. Franks and Amanda Crim, a partner at the StillWoods Group, did not respond to requests for comment, including questions about who is behind the coalition.
In mid-October, the coalition’s Facebook page listed an Arlington-based public affairs firm called Plus Communications as the organization that manages the Facebook account. Plus Communications did not respond to requests for comment.
Federal Communications Commission filings show many of the coalition’s ads were purchased by a firm called MHB Media. The filings list MHB Media’s address as a P.O. box in Arlington. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Meagan Flynn contributed to this report.
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