Hello neighbors,
For 11 years I’ve been proud to serve Ward 1, working to build more affordable housing, protect neighbors and our environment, and make the mundane but critical functions of government work for residents.
In my final year as your Ward 1 Councilmember, you will see me fighting to drastically reduce litter in our neighborhoods and rivers; leverage zoning and funding to build more affordable housing; restore and expand the safety net our most vulnerable residents rely on; and invest in our public spaces.
There’s a lot still to get done this year, but together we can do hard things! I am passionate about our ward and about this work, and I could not be prouder to be your councilmember.
IN THIS MOMENT
My committee issued findings and called on the Mayor and interim police chief to rescind two orders that allow D.C. police to cooperate with federal law enforcement on immigration and recommended that the Council strengthen the laws intended to prohibit that collaboration. I’m working to strengthen our sanctuary values law. It will take years, maybe decades, to repair that breach of trust. I hope that this report is a first step in that process.
I will always stand with our immigrant neighbors and those fighting for a free and equitable D.C.
COMMITMENT TO HOUSING
I’ve promised since my first term in office to build more affordable housing across Ward 1 and the District. Each year, I’ve ensured millions of new budget dollars for housing. And in 2021, I crafted the Homes and Hearts amendment to provide more than 2,400 residents a safe and stable home.
In 2025, we celebrated the long-awaited opening of the first phase of the new Park Morton apartments, a ribbon-cutting at Jubilee Housing’s EucKal, the opening of the Faircliff in Columbia Heights, and the groundbreaking at Geneva on Connecticut Ave – hundreds of new units achieved through thoughtful, inclusive, and sustainable development.
We’ve faced setbacks, too. The Mayor, building developers and owners pushed to weaken and remove protections for tenants. But I fought back and was able to restore most of those protections. I secured legislation to make building TOPA transactions predictable, encourage new investment in the District’s housing market, and preserve tenants’ ability to negotiate.
What’s next?
One-off fixes to our housing shortage are not enough. I’ve introduced legislation to replace the existing Housing Production Trust Fund with a more modern, flexible financing mechanism and add new tools to accelerate housing production and preserve existing affordable housing.
I also introduced a bill to require ambitious housing targets and another to remove the two-staircase requirement on new and renovated smaller buildings, allowing for more units and larger units without sacrificing safety. I’ll be advocating for passage of all of these this year.
HELPING WARD 1 THRIVE
Our ward is dynamic, vibrant, creative, and caring. That’s something I fight to preserve every day by investing in the spaces and places that make our community stronger and better, like our senior villages, parks, plazas, and schools.
I invested $600,000 for our seniors in this year’s budget, including at Mt. Pleasant Village and Vida Senior Center in Adams Morgan; $300,000 in public restrooms in Ward 1; almost $1.3 million for GALA, Lincoln, and Howard theatres, and more for Amigos Park, the triangle at 625 T St. NW and other parks and plazas. We put $27 million toward finally building out a much-needed annex for Bancroft Elementary School, and $3 million to helping Rosemount Early Childhood Center secure its location for the future.
What’s next?
I’ve introduced legislation to create community-based organizations in Columbia Heights and the greater U Street corridor to bring businesses, residents, and cultural organizations to the table together, to help our neighborhoods fully reach their potential.
I’ll be looking to the recently released, long-awaited report on public spaces in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant, which I commissioned, to build on and prioritize investments in streets, parks and plazas to make them safer, more welcoming, and better able to support local businesses and community culture.
We’re working to support the implementation the Columbia Heights Mount Pleasant Vending Zone to preserve the vibrant culture and contributions of street vendors while allowing for fair and effective enforcement.
CLEANER ENVIRONMENT, CLEANER NEIGHBORHOODS
D.C.’s bottle bill is projected to reduce litter in our streets, parks, rivers and neighborhoods by at least 70% and increase recycling to more than three times the current rate. I introduced the bill in January 2025 with support from 10 of my colleagues. Modeled on successful programs in 10 states and dozens of countries, the bill requires retailers to collect a 10-cent deposit on most beverage containers, which is refunded when customers return their empty containers.
The national beverage industry is putting up quite a fight because they’d rather see taxpayers pay the cost of cleaning up the litter their products create. As chair of the committee with oversight of the Department of Public Works, and with a passion for reducing waste, I’ve championed innovative trash solutions, better ways to handle recycling, and the removal of food scraps from our waste stream.
What’s next?
This year DPW is funded to install 250+ new public litter and recycling cans, expand curbside compost pickup to 12,000 households and double the number of food waste smart bins. And I hope to celebrate passage of the bottle bill before the end of this year!
HELPING WARD 1 THRIVE
I am never surprised by – and always in awe of – the way we care for each other in Ward 1, especially our neighbors who are most in need.
This year, we celebrated the opening of the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, which I helped fund in the FY 2025 budget. The center provides counseling, job opportunities, HIV/STD testing, education, food, support groups, arts and cultural activities, and more.
The substance use disorder outreach pilot I created and funded in Columbia Heights and Shaw led to a 51% decrease in nonfatal overdoses in the 600 block of T Street NW in less than a year by focusing on trusted relationships and sustained outreach. This year, we expanded to wards 5, 6, 7, and 8.
I worked to expand access to home visiting services that provide at-home care and parental coaching to help new parents and children thrive.
What’s next?
I am working to make substance use disorder outreach a permanently funded program. My team and I are also monitoring the anticipated opening of the stabilization center in Ward 1, which will help neighbors experiencing substance use disorder access treatment.
We’re paving the way for a long-overdue permanent public restrooms program in the District, increasing the number of incredibly popular Throne self-standing moveable restrooms from six to 10. Thrones serve all of our residents – and visitors – with clean and available amenities.
SAFER ROADS AND COMMUNITIES
The Council funded implementation of laws I introduced to allow immediate booting and towing of vehicles with dangerous drivers and vehicles with fake license plates and passed my legislation that created a first-in-the nation vehicle point system to prioritize parking enforcement on the vehicles with most dangerous offenses.
The Department of Transportation wrapped construction on the Columbia Road bus and bike lanes project, which improves bus service on one of the most heavily used and previously most dangerous corridors for transit users and cyclists in the District.
What’s next?
DDOT will also move forward on bus priority projects crosstown through Columbia Heights, U Street, and the whole length of Georgia Ave, as well as protected bike lanes on 11th Street. And I’ll continue to use my committee oversight to hold illegal and dangerous ridesharing company Empower accountable.
Get in touch & stay connected
202-724-8181
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